Cursed Triforce Children
by Trolly's Bara-chan
Summary: Zelda's father wanted to destroy the Triforce holders.  Sheik, the princess' Eternal Shield, tried to protect little Link, Vio, from the King's foolishness, Dark Link by his side.  How did it ever come to this?  And what did Sheik do to Vaati? Slash
1. A King's Stupidity

This little gem has been bouncing in my head for weeks. When I ignore it, it tries to force Legend of Zelda references into my other fic where they don't belong. I ran the plot by my suitemate who thought I should post it. So, this one is dedicated to you, Amber.

I don't own Legend of Zelda. If I did, Sheik and Dark Link's characters would be way more coherent.

EDIT: So, these chapters have been edited for congruity with later chapters. Flashbacks will be in italics. They're not in any kind of order, they're just what's relevant whatever is currently happening in the chapter.

* * *

"No matter how wise his daughter is, Zelda's father is always fated to be a damn fool."

Dark burst out laughing at the sour expression on the other's face. They were tucked away in a protected little corner of the Dark World, a nook the monsters didn't often frequent. The one called Sheik, the shadow of Princess Zelda, knelt by a small pool of reflective water that he had charmed to show them the world of the light.

Sheik was. . . an unusual case, as far as shadows (or even Sheikah) went. Once, he'd been a she; she was called Dark Zelda. Back when the Gerudo King, Ganondorf, first threatened Hyrule, hiding the princess's power became the top priority of the Sheikah tribe. What better way to hide her shining light than to cloak it in her own darkness?

The Sheikah were powerful magic users, and they manipulated Dark Zelda's very soul, creating a being much like them. They created a Sheikah boy, whose spirit would forever be bound to Zelda's as a shadow created to guard and protect.

Thankfully, his abilities weren't needed then; Ganondorf was sealed away without much incident. He'd broken from his seal several times since, however, and each time Sheik had been there, doing his best to protect the princess when the Hero could not.

And the seal was weakening again.

A splash of water on his face broke Dark's train of thought. Scowling, he brushed sopping black locks from his red eyes, moving closer to see what had Sheik so irritated. The pool showed a royal proclamation pinned to a tree. He leaned over as the water settled from its upset, eyes slowly widening in horror as he read the words.

_By proclamation of the King: _

_All children born with the mark of the Triforce on their hands are from henceforth considered to be cursed. To allow such a child to continue living would be to doom Hyrule to the evil chaos which always follows. Therefore, all children who bear the aforementioned mark will be immediately executed. All citizens found to be harboring such a child will also be put to death. _

"Time and again I have worked to disguise Princess Zelda's blessing from Ganondorf. I never thought I would see the day that I would have to hide it from her own family." His one visible eye fixed on Dark.

Dark's breath escaped in a whoosh. "How did this happen?" He asked, eyes locked on Sheik's. Zelda's power was usually active from birth; her dreams served to guide her people well. The last Zelda had died only a few years previously, certainly not enough time for this nonsense to develop?

Sheik's eyes slipped closed as he thought. "This King, the son of the last Zelda, always knew of his mother's wisdom, but never knew of its source. She. . .insisted that he know the history of Hyrule, of its wars, of its heroes. She wanted him to learn from the mistakes of the past. He, thinking he should know at least as well as his mother (and he _doesn't!_), noticed that the bearers of the Triforce were always present for whatever calamity occurred." A muscle twitched above his eye, the only indication of his growing anger. "This King reached the conclusion that because the three were always there, they caused the problems _together. _He thinks that by killing them as infants, he will divert disaster."

It took Dark a moment to process the implications. Unlike Zelda's power, Link's remained dormant (and damn near impossible to trace) until it was needed, if it ever was in that life. Indeed, the spirit of the Hero (while always present in his reincarnations) usually slept, manifesting only in the Triforce mark on the back of the would-be Hero's hand.

If they killed Link now. . .

Dark stared off into the distance, towards where he knew Ganondorf was bound. "Do you think he had something to do with this?"

Sheik shifted. "It's possible." At Dark's sullen expression Sheik reached out, cupping Dark's chin in his bandaged hand. "I won't let him control you again."

"I know." Dark murmured. "So, what do we do now?"

Sheik released him, settling back with a sigh. "We wait. There is little else shadows can do without a light to cast them."

* * *

As it turned out, they needn't have worried for the princess. Her nursemaid, Impa, was a shrewd woman ("she always is." Sheik had said blandly when Dark pointed this out.). Impa had kept the girl's hands covered for ten years, safe from her father's eyes.

It was the Hero who posed the problem. Twice he'd been born, and twice they'd failed to save him. Ten years ago his first midwife had dropped him, so surprised was she that the young mother had birthed one of the "cursed children." The second time, eight years ago, Sheik had been only moments too late; he'd stared into the icy depths of Lake Hylia and wondered if the Zora knew whose life their waters had claimed.

As near as he could figure, Dark's spirit did not align with Link's the way Sheik's did with Zelda's. He could not sense Link's birth, only his awakening, or his death. He was the true shadow of the hero, after all, and had never felt a need to know when Link was born before Sheik and Vio taught him what it was to care for his light. Before them, he might have been amused by this turn of events, but now each failure sickened him. Each time Link perished, Dark felt he'd failed Vio. He'd promised to do all he could to keep Ganondorf at bay, to prove he was one of the Links.

Without a hero to stop him, Ganondorf. . .

Dark flopped onto his back, staring moodily up at the cloudy dimness that passed for a sky in this realm. What would he do, even if he did find Link? Dark's eyes wandered over to Sheik, who sat bent over his pool, no doubt keeping an eye on the princess again. He was about to make a stalker comment just to annoy the Sheikah (it was difficult to rile him, but definitely worth it if you could out-run the needles thrown your way), when a sudden, horrifyingly familiar sensation flashed through his body, sending him bolt upright.

"Sheik!" They'd better figure out their plan for Link, and fast.

* * *

So, who wants to know what they find this time? (Poor Link. I really did feel bad killing him.)


	2. Saving Links

Hm. Well, that's interesting. 23 hits, one favorite and one alert, but no reviews. Can't say I've gotten that combination before. Anyway, it looks like the plot bunny hasn't shut up yet. Here's the second chapter. Time to clear a few things up, while of course making others even stranger.

* * *

_Sheiks' shadow was little more than a gray smudge by his feet the first time they met._

_Dark himself was very nearly insane. He couldn't say how long he'd been in the Water Temple, sealed inside that blasted Room of Illusions. When Ganondorf first laid his failed plans for the conquest of Hyrule, he'd used his magic to summon Dark from the shadows, and sent him to the Water Temple to begin a quiet takeover._

_Or at least, that was what he'd told Dark he was to do. He'd never told him that the Room of Illusions would know him for what he was, and would trap him there. The room spoke to him. It told him that it knew what he was doing, and it wasn't going to stand for it. It couldn't destroy him, but it could seal him until the Hero came to finish him._

_And so he found himself stuck there, in that blasted white room with that blasted dead tree waiting for a blasted Hero he knew would never come. Dark knew the Hero would never come, for even in his Time Before the Room he had been aware of the Hero, even if he hadn't had the desire to act against him. He had always been aware of when the Hero awakened, and when the Hero died._

_This Hero was already dead._

_Dark had taken to pacing the Room of Illusions. He would travel from one door to the other, around the tree and towards the mists. He always hoped the mists would part one day and let him pass, but they never did. When he'd tried every inch of the room he'd practice tirelessly, for how long he never knew, still preparing for a Hero who would never come._

_Would Never Come._

_So when the door quietly clicked, and the mighty stone slid open, Dark thought for sure he'd finally, totally lost it. The Hero was dead. Dark began to laugh._

_"What is this?" He cried, "has this blasted room found a new way to torment me?" He could almost hear the mists chuckling at him._

_Screaming with rage Dark threw himself forward, but the other was faster. Slim, strong hands grasped his, slamming him against the wall and holding him away from the water, away from any shadows he could sink into. Dark struggled and kicked, screamed and railed, but the boy held fast with something more than his strength._

_His hands released Dark's and only then did Dark realize that his captor had cast a spell on him, suspending him in the air. Dark roared with anger, screaming and cursing, swearing violent oaths._

_"Be silent, Dark Link." The voice was a smooth tenor, much different than Dark's own, far too different to belong to the Hero. The Hero Who Was Dead._

_Against his will Dark fell silent, and his protests stilled. In that moment of forced calm he finally met the invader's eyes, startled to find a single red Sheikah eye thoughtfully appraising him. The Hero Who Was Dead did not have Sheikah-red eyes, could not, because Dark himself did, or something close to them. Dark frowned, then scowled deeply as the small one's words sunk in._

_"Dark." He spat._

_"Hm?" The invader peered up at him from under his blond bangs. "I beg your pardon?"_

_"I cannot be Dark Link when Link is dead. It has always been that way, Sheikah. You should know that already." Dark snarled. The invader nodded, as though he had expected this. Had Dark known Sheik better at the time, he would have seen a brief flash of pain on the Sheikah's face._

_"Yes, the Hero of Time, Link is dead. If he had been alive, I doubt I would have been able to defeat you so easily." Dark snarled as the invader paced around his suspended form. "Actually, that's why I'm here. The Hero died because he was old. Queen Zelda will soon succumb to the same fate. When she dies, much of my power will go with her, and I will no longer have the strength to free you."_

_Dark stilled, glaring suspiciously at boy now peering up at him. Free him? "She asked me to come, you know. She didn't think it wise to leave you here in the temple with the reconstructions imminent. If you like, I can return you to the shadows."_

_Back to the shadows meant away from the mists of the blasted room, but it also meant back to the other Dark, Dark Zelda. And as much as the Hero had always loved his Zelda, Dark had always hated his (at least, he thought he did. He'd been cooped up with the mists for so long he couldn't be certain any longer)._

_"Keh, to deal with that bitch again? Fuck you.." He sneered at the little Sheikah, who, much to Dark's surprise, only seemed amused by his response._

_"I think you will find that Dark Zelda is no more." The Sheikah boy extended his hand._

_The mists damn near danced when the dark finally left. Their taunts of someday finding a way to destroy him echoed in his mind._

* * *

Sheik's shadow was darker now, larger. It seemed to swallow Dark as he leaped across it, seizing Sheik's hand in his. The Sheikah pulled their destination from his mind, and drawing on young Zelda's power he took them there.

For a moment, Dark almost thought he was back in that blasted room. They were standing in blinding, icy cold whiteness. Only when his panicked mind registered the biting wind and darkened sky did Dark calm, but just for a moment.

"Link!" He called. He couldn't hope to see a foot in front of him in the blizzard. He heard Sheik suck in a breath; of course, his Sheikah eyes would have no such problems with the weather.

Sheik fell to his knees beside a lump in the snow, frantically digging with his bandaged hands. Dark fell beside him, scooping out handfuls of the ugly white while the wind howled around them. They worked in silence, digging, digging.

Dark's hand clasped something solid and he _pulled_. Shiek reached out to help, pulling a limp form from the snowdrift. His lips were blue, eyes closed. He wasn't wearing much more than a white undershirt, spattered red with his blood. Dark held him close as Sheik shrugged off his cape, feeling for a pulse that was barely there, weak and thready like a bird's.

"Only a fairy can save him now." Sheik murmured as he wrapped Link in his dark cape. To teleport with the boy in his current state would be madness. He could not survive it. Gripping Dark's arm Sheik half-carried, half-dragged them to the shelter of a cliff, out of the wind before taking off in search of a healing fairy.

Dark's eyes remained fixed on Link, so young and vulnerable. He wasn't much older than five or six, if Dark had to hazard a guess. He untucked the cloak, intending to wrap it around them both and share his body heat with the child, when he let out a hiss.

Someone had bound his little wrists and ankles together, trussed up like a pig for slaughter. Dark drew his dagger to cut the ropes, growling darkly when he saw the red, chafed skin of his wrists. The fingers of his right hand were nearly white with frostbite, the tips turning an ugly purple. His left hand had been completely mangled, the Triforce nearly unrecognizable.

Dark held the limp child to him, gently tucking his hands and bare legs between them, hunching over him to protect him from the cold. "Come on Link, open your eyes." He whispered. "Hyrule needs you, Link. . .Vio, I need you."

Dark's heart fluttered when he heard a soft groan, the boy's tiny eyelids slowly fluttering open. Azure eyes met his, and for a moment they didn't belong to the child. For a moment they were much older, flecked with violet.

"I knew you'd come if I called, Shadow." Whispered a voice that was not five years old.

Dark Link's face slowly broke into a grin as tears pooled in his eyes and he began to laugh with relief. The boy's eyes slid shut again, his head lolling back onto his dark's chest as Dark Link held him. Time seemed to stand still in the swirling white, as Dark Link strained to listen for Sheik's return above the howl of the wind. Link didn't stir again, but Dark Link knew he would live, knew it with every fiber of his being.

A little ball of pink fluttered in front of him, and Dark Link instinctively flung one hand up to shield his face with a cry, the other clutching tightly to the child he now knew was Vio incarnate. The fairy darted under Sheik's cape, fluttering around the boy. Sheik pulled the cover back, watching as color returned to his face, his hands righted themselves, and his pulse thrummed steadily under Sheik's practiced fingertips.

"Thank you, fairy." Said Sheik, bowing gracefully while still kneeling beside their new charge (something Dark Link was sure only Sheik could manage). The little fairy chimed at him as she fluttered out from under the cloak, her light causing Dark Link to hiss.

"Let's get him home." Sheik murmured, hand on Dark Link's arm.

It was only when he felt the strange dissolving sensation of the teleport that a frightening thought occurred to Dark Link He tried to call out to Sheik to wait, to stop, but he couldn't. They landed in the Dark Realm and Dark Link grappled with the little bundle on his lap, fearing shooting through him. A creature of light could not maintain his form in another realm. Other Links had changed; once he'd become the Divine Beast, a wolf, another time a bunny (that particular incident had amused Dark Link to no end. Green with a hint of Vio had never struck him as the bunny-type, but then he hadn't figured that odd combination of Red and Blue would turn out to be a wolf, either).

Dark Link finally pulled back the cape from Link's face, only to see the boy sleeping peacefully. Something around his neck glittered and Dark Link turned questioning eyes to Sheik, who only smirked. "Unlike you, Dark Link, I plan ahead. It took me almost a year to track the Moon Pearl down for him."

Dark Link smiled at the amendment to his name, and what it meant. Link shifted in his dark's grasp, blue eyes slowly blinking open. He peered around in confusion, brow furrowed. Slowly, he lifted his eyes to the man who held him close, and watched him anxiously. "Who are you?" His little five-year-old voice asked softly.

Vio's spirit had retreated, Dark Link saw, but that was fine. He'd be back. Dark Link felt a smile spread over his face. "I am Dark Link, your shadow."

The boy seemed to consider this for a moment. "Shadow." He said finally, laying his head back down to sleep. He was so warm, so tired, and safe.

Sheik stared out over the horizon, towards a swirl of darkness that seemed to grow by the day. He only hoped they had enough time.


	3. A Link to the Past

Eh, I'm cruel to little Link again in this chapter, feel free to yell me for it.

Chapter Three

* * *

_When Sheik finally removed the spell from Dark, he snapped. Forgoing his sword he leaped at the Sheikah, who twisted neatly out of the way, one of his needles whistling by where Dark's ear had been a moment before._

_Giving a cry of rage Dark drew his sword and swung, only to find it countered by the Sheikah's dagger. "If I can't kill him, you'll have to do!" Dark roared, lashing out with his black-booted foot. He met only air, Sheik using the momentum to throw him to the ground._

_Any normal opponent would have at least been momentarily winded; but he was Dark, and he was anything but normal. On his feet in a flash, he swung, ducked, blocked, and parried, still unable to lay a single blow on the infuriating Sheikah._

_"Hold still and die already!" Dark snarled, rolling around for a back slice. Again, the Sheikah blocked._

_"Stop this Dark Link, you've no reason to fight me." Sheik's voice was frustratingly calm, and it only made Dark want to kill him even more, see his red blood stain the Dark World's soil._

_"Do! Not! Call! Me! Link!" Dark punctuated each word with jab, screaming at his own lingering weakness. The Hero was dead. Dark could not be Link without the Hero, the Hero only HE was supposed to kill!_

_Sheik withdrew a Deku nut from a pouch at his side, but Dark knocked it away with a vicious swing. If he pretended hard enough, he could will himself to believe the Sheikah was the Hero, and by killing him he would be released from the terrible mists he could still feel clinging to his very soul. "Die!"_

_Then it happened._

_Sheik faltered, and Dark's blow drew a long, shallow cut across his torso, knocking him to the ground. Dark was grinning madly, triumphant, his red eyes burning for the Sheikah's blood as he moved in for the killing blow._

_And Sheik screamed._

_He dropped his blade and fell to his knees, the sound tearing from the very center of his being as though some part of him were dying, ripped from his body and flung to the winds to scatter across the land and be lost in the sea._

_In a way, it was._

_Dark's sword lowered, the fog clearing from his mind as he took a careful step towards the fallen Sheikah. "There is only one thing that can draw such a scream from a shadow warrior, and my blade is not it. Your Light is dead." It was not a question._

_For an instant their eyes met, blood and ruby, and Dark could see that Sheik did not know this pain, and yet he did, had felt it countless times already. Skeik's shadow flickered, darkening as he heaved for breath that would not easily come. He remained laying in the dirt, defenseless, unable to find the strength of will to stand again. Fighting him now would be pointless, Dark could see._

_Dark sheathed his black blade, walking away from the Sheikah. He would not return for nearly one hundred years._

* * *

When Sheik started swearing in multiple languages, that was your cue to run. _Fast_. Usually, however, even that wouldn't save you from the Sheikah's wrath.

Dark Link's personal record was three languages (He'd once told Sheik that the Princess was absolutely useless, and couldn't Sheik possess her and make her help Link, as had been the original purpose for the Sheikah's creation? Sheik had very nearly skewed him for that. Funny. Now that he thought about it, he'd only heard two after the Dark Mirror incident. Had Sheik taken out his anger elsewhere?). Ganon had once reached eight (Dark Link suspected that it had something to do with locking Zelda in the rat-infested dungeons that one time. That Zelda had _hated_ rats), though he usually hovered in the six to seven range.

Dark Link checked little Link over for the fourth time in ten minutes, reassuring himself that his Light was still breathing. Two deaths and three rebirths in the span of less than four years took its toll on them both, and he couldn't help but worry. The Hero's spirit wasn't meant to be recycled so often.

Assuring himself that the boy was comfortable by their fire (neither Dark Link nor Sheik had ever bothered building a house, though if little Link were going to stay Dark Link thought they might have to) Dark Link made his way to Sheik's side, peering over his shoulder. One benefit to being bound to Princess Zelda so tightly was that Sheik was capable of viewing the past as clearly as she saw the future. All he needed was something to track, and with little Link lying so close, he could clearly see everything that had transpired in the past seven years. He'd already started swearing.

_On the eve of Link's birth such a mighty blizzard raged that the good Lady's mother was unable to leave the house to fetch help. Instead, the old woman delivered her grandson herself. In the end, when her eyes locked on the babe's left hand, she was glad that she did (not that it delayed their fate at all). _

_She had known the last Zelda well, even known the knight named Link, a distant cousin, the one who might have been a hero had the need ever arisen. The King's proclamation concerning the Triforce children was sheer foolishness, and she knew it. To kill one blessed- yes, blessed, not cursed- by the goddesses was idiocy at its peak. _

"_Do you love your son, daughter?" The old woman asked as she cleaned the boy and wrapped him in a knitted blanket. _

"_With all of my heart." Answered his mother as she accepted the babe. "Why would you ask such a thing, mother?" _

_Gently, his grandmother turned his hand palm down, letting his mother see the mark of the goddesses upon his skin. "He cannot remain in Castle Town. He won't be safe here." _

_The Lady didn't get a chance to answer as she heard a sharp gasp from the door. Turning her head, she saw her husband there, his expression positively murderous. He stalked to the bed and seized the child's hand, making the infant cry out. His cold, dark eyes bore into his wife's gentle blue. _

"_I will not have a cursed child known to be mine, nor will I keep a woman who birthed one. I care not what you do with him, but I want you gone by morning." With those words, he left. _

Two languages.

_Although the Lady was weak still, by morning the roads were cleared and the Lady, her mother, and the babe were forced from their home out into the snow without even the aid of a pack-mule. The Lady's sister lived with her husband in a little village nestled at the base of Snowpeak, and that was where they were headed. It was a long journey, and the Lady was afraid to stop for fear that someone would see her boy's marking and try to harm him. The weather was cold, however, and the roads beyond the town barely passable. They spent their first night in a cave close to the town, with only the feeble light of a small fire to warm them. _

"_We cannot avoid all towns on the way, my daughter." Said the grandmother softly. "You are in no condition for this sort of traveling; I don't think any of us are." _

"_What else can we do, mother?" Asked the Lady sadly, her blue eyes staring down at her sleeping son. "They would hurt him." _

_For a time the grandmother was silent, then she reached into her pocket and pulled out a violet silk handkerchief. This she cut and sewed deftly, producing a pair of small violet mittens, which she slipped onto the child's hands. Link promptly stuck his left fist in his mouth, sucking on it. _

_His mother laughed. "I think he likes that color, mother, violet. My little Vio." And though they were cold, they smiled. _

_Late on the third day of their travels they reached Lake Hylia, and the grandmother, seeing how weary her daughter was, decided they should camp there. They found a rock outcropping that was relatively free of snow, and the grandmother bid her daughter to sit while she looked for wood to make a fire. Exhausted, the Lady- well, Ex-Lady, she supposed- leaned back against the rock to rest. _

_She woke after what seemed like only moments, a man's putrid breath in her face. "My my my," said he, "what have we got here? A pretty little lady and her brat, eh? How's about a kiss before I take your rupees, lady?" He was skin and bones, his tunic filthy and coated with dirt despite their proximity to the lake. He leaned in close to her, his teeth yellow and rotten. _

_She drew back from him, clutching her baby close. "I have nothing to give you, leave us alone!" _

_His smirk made her stomach twist. "Oh I doubt that, a pretty thing like you. And look at this, such fine gloves for the little one." He snatched Link from his mother's arms, and ignoring the woman's cries as she reached for her baby he pulled off Link's little left mitten. The man gasped as his beady eyes locked on the child's hand. _

"_A cursed little bastard you have here then, eh? Well, why don't I take care of him for you!" The bandit turned, hurling the baby, blanket and all, into the icy waters of the lake whilst his mother screamed in terror. _

Dark Link barely heard Sheik start in on the third language as he began swearing himself, promising a long and painful death to this sick bastard. It was too much like the last time! Too much!

But this time was different.

_The shaft of a spear caught the man over the head, dropping him to the ground before the Zora guard who had felled him. The woman didn't even seem to see, breaking in a mad dash for the water. "Link!" She cried as she shed her cloak, intending to dive after the infant herself. _

_A second Zora surfaced, cradling a bundle in her arms. Swimming to the shore, she passed the baby to the first Zora, who laid him face down across his knees and firmly slapped his back until he began to cough, a thin wail reaching their ears. His relieved mother dropped to her knees beside him, and the Zora started to hand the baby over, only to pull him back when the overwhelmed Hylian woman slumped to the ground, unconscious. _

Though the Lady saw none of it, Dark Link and Sheik watched as the Zora guards located the grandmother and borrowed a boat, towing their three Hylian passengers up the river to Zora's Domain.

"_So Hylian babies can't swim?" Asked the female Zora who had first rescued the child from the water. _

"_They cannot." Answered the grandmother, who shivered, chilled, as she had wrapped little Link in her own cloak, since his blanket was now sopping wet. _

"_How curious." Murmured the Zora. "Hatchlings can swim as soon as they leave their shells." _

A wave of Sheik's hand and the Hylian women stood before the Zora's throne.

"_. . .and so, we wish to pass through to reach my daughter's village at the base of Snowpeak." The grandmother seemed to be finishing explaining the purpose of their trip, for the Queen looked as angry as Sheik at that moment. Her eyes were closed, but they could see the crease of her brows, and her knuckles were white as she gripped the arms of her throne. _

"_The Hylians may have forgotten what the Hero has done for them in the past, but we Zora have not." She stood, descended the steps of the throne, and reached out to gently take Link's left hand in her own. His fingers curled around hers instinctively, his blue eyes regarding her as she turned his hand to see the Triforce symbol on the back. "We will do all we can to protect this child until he is ready for his destiny." _

"_Thank you," breathed the Lady, bowing as best she could with her son in her arms. The Queen smiled. _

"_You poor dears. You look exhausted, and here I am, making you stand here. Captain," she motioned to a helmeted Zora, who saluted sharply, "see to it that they are escorted to the guest quarters, and get them some dry clothes and warm food." _

"_Yes, my Queen." The Captain bowed, leading them down another path. _

Sheik had stopped cursing for the moment, and a small smile even broke over his face when the young prince of the Zoras entered the guest quarters some time later.

_The boy gave a short, respectful bow, offering a bundle of blue cloth to Lady. _

"_My mother asked me to bring this to you. It might be a bit big on him yet, but the material of the blue tunic will allow the baby to breathe underwater." The prince said, offering a small blue tunic with a smile. _

_The Lady let out a small gasp as she accepted the fabric, unwrapping the baby from a borrowed blanket to pull the tunic over his head. His blue eyes blinked up at them, watching the prince with apparent curiosity. "Thank you, Prince?..." _

"_Ralis, ma'am." Said Prince Ralis politely. "May I hold him?" He asked, suddenly uncertain as he motioned to the baby. _

_The Lady smiled. "Of course. Here." She showed him how to support Link's head while he held him, cradled gently against his chest. The baby yawned, sucking on his bare fist as he stared up at Prince Ralis. _

"_So much like the other one," murmured Ralis. At the Lady's questioning glance, he explained. "A year or two ago a Hylian baby drowned in the lake. He too bore the mark of the Triforce on his hand. I. . .I found him, just. . .floating there." He broke off as tears gathered in his eyes, and he held Link's warm body close, trying to banish the memory of that other limp, icy cold infant. _

Sheik's swearing started up again at the mention of their failure, and he banished the scene as the Lady wrapped the prince in a hug.

_When the waters cleared some time had passed. It was spring in Hyrule. A laughing Ralis held the infant Link in his arms as he swam through the waters of his domain, the months-old baby gurgling happily. He surfaced near the exit to the Snowpeak path, giving the blue-garbed child one last hug before handing him off to his Lady mother. He watched sadly as they prepared to leave. _

_The Queen smiled at them, though she clearly wished they would stay. "If ever you need us, our domain will be open to you. Have a safe journey." _

"_Thank you, thank you so much for your kindness. Don't worry Prince Ralis, we will bring Link back to visit you." The Lady and her mother bowed to the Queen and the prince, who perked up considerably at the prospect of future visits._

_A pair of the Queen's guards escorted them the day's journey along the path, leaving them just before nightfall when they reached their destination. The travelers descended into the valley that held the little cluster of huts that made up the village, stopping only for a moment to remove the baby's magical tunic and replace it with a pretty violet one his grandmother made for him to match his gloves, which they slipped on his hands. _

_The valley itself was beautiful, surrounded on all sides by mountains with a stream running through the middle, glowing orange in the sunset. The fields were plowed but not yet planted, the damp earth glistening wetly from a brief rainstorm a few hours prior. Inside the village, tendrils of smoke curled up from a dozen or so chimneys, the smell of dinner pervading the air. _

_The door to one of the huts opened and what must have been Link's aunt ran out to greet them. She had a kind face; blue eyes very much like Link's and his mother's. Her husband, however, regarded them from the doorway with a scowl, muscular arms crossed over his stocky frame. _

Sheik's hand moved again and the scene shifted once more. There was fire and smoke, the village ablaze. Women screamed and men shouted, the villagers desperately fighting the roaming bandits who sought to destroy their peaceful little village. Four languages now, Sheik's hands moving helplessly to his hidden daggers.

_A young boy in a violet tunic gave a shout, charging one of the hulking bandits with little more than a shovel to defend the mayor's shrieking daughter. Link struck the man hard across the back, the bandit giving a shout of pain as he fell forward. _

"_You little runt!" He made a grab for the boy, but Link was faster, smacking him hard upside the head. The man slumped to the ground as a scream rang out. Link turned towards the sound, his eyes wide and horrified as he saw one of the bandits scoop up his mother and ride towards the hills surrounding their home. _

"_Mom!" Link dropped his shovel and took off at a run, darting around buildings and over hedges in an attempt to head them off. He leaped from the top of a neighbor's shed towards the horse, grasping for his terrified mother's hand._

"_Brat!" spat the hairy-faced bandit, striking Link across the back of his head with the butt of his sword. Link fell from the horse, dragged along for several feet by his grip on his mother's hand. His head spun as he fought to hold on, dimly aware that his hand was slipping out of his glove. His dangling foot caught on a rock and the jerk was enough to wrench his hand free of the fabric. His head struck the ground as he landed harshly, his mother's screams echoing around him as she clutched his glove in her now otherwise empty hand. The last thing he saw was the bandit's grinning face, a grotesque scar running along his right cheek. _

_The mayor's son found Link some hours later, unconscious still in the dead grass. The older boy nudged the child with his foot to turn him over. "Link? You still alive? Hey- DAD!" The boy jumped away as though burnt, horrified eyes locked on Link's pale left hand, usually concealed. He ran, shouting, returning only once he'd gathered the men of the village together. _

"_It's his fault!" The boy cried. "Link is the reason we were attacked! He's cursed, and now he's doomed us all!" He was hysterical, waving and pointing at the still boy. The noise began to rouse him, and Link lifted a hand to his aching head. _

"_Mom?. . ." He whispered hoarsely. He started to sit up, only to be roughly shoved back by a boot to __the chest. Link grunted under the pressure, shoving weakly at the offending leg. "Hey. . . ." _

Five languages.

_The mayor cleared his throat importantly. "My son is right. Ever since that boy arrived he's been nothing but trouble." He eyed Link's uncle, beckoning him forward. "He's part of your house, brother. It's your job to take care of him. This abomination must be dealt with." _

_The villagers all cheered this announcement, clamoring for the boy's death. The attack had been sudden and brutal, wiping out what little food stores they had left after a failed harvest. Even the mayor's daughter, who Link had rescued only hours earlier, screamed with the rest. _

_The men set upon the child, kicking him violently. They tore at his violet tunic, the last made for him by his grandmother before she passed, leaving only his undershirt barely intact. The women fetched lengths of rope and brought them forth, binding the boy like they would a pig, hands and feet together, the rope run up around his neck and down again to choke him if he struggled. Link cried out in confusion and fear, but his pleas went unheeded. The villagers wanted vengeance, and in one marked boy they found an easy target. _

Six languages. Dark Link swore to himself that if these villagers weren't dead already they would be soon. Absolutely nobody was going to treat his light like that and go unpunished!

"_Take him up the mountain!" The mayor's daughter shouted. "Let him rot!" _

_The people took up the sickening mantra. "Let him freeze! Let him rot!" Two men, Link's uncle and another who was a distant cousin of some sort, lifted the limp and bloodied boy between them, setting off up the mountain path. The higher they went the colder it became, though the villagers didn't seem to mind the chill nipping at their bodies. They took Link to an exposed peak where the wind howled fiercely, and under the prompting of the screaming people, the men hurled the again-unconscious boy off the cliff, watching him bounce the entire way down before landing in a snowdrift. _

_When he didn't rise again the people let out a roar, spitting down towards where he lay before they turned and headed back to their ruined homes. For a mere moment Link's eyes opened, blue tinted with a violet hue. _

"_Please, Shadow. . ." was all he whispered before the eyes closed and his battered body went slack once more. _

Seven. Eight. Nine. Dark Link was on his feet, trembling with rage. "I want to kill them." He growled.

Sheik was already standing, prepared to teleport. His shadow seemed to be darkening and solidifying, its shape almost humanoid. "Death is too good for them." He hissed. He seized Dark Link's wrist with an impulsiveness that was quite unlike him, preparing the leave for the Overworld.

A quiet groan stopped them, two sets of red eyes drawn to the stirring lump by the fire. Link was waking up.

* * *

Right, so, there's the story of why Dark Link and Sheik found little Link in the snow.

Thank you to my two wonderful reviewers UltraVioletDragon (yep, you're first! Thank you!), and darkwolflink1 (hehe I hope you still think it's good after that mess). Now if only more of you would review. Come on guys, I know more than two people have read this. Please feed the author? She likes reviews!

It's also about four in the morning, but I wanted to finish editing this and get it posted since this plot bunny insists on sqashing any ideas for my other fic. OY!


	4. If You Make a Sheikah Angry

Yep, the plot bunny is still here. It ran away for a while after my laptop died and took an almost-completed chapter with it, but it came back. There were a few scenes it absolutely demanded that I write as it decided to play the "what if?" implications game with the backstory I've created.

So, warning, there's a lot of swearing in this chapter, though very little of it is in English. I decided not to define the curses and leave them as presents for anyone who already knows them. You can Google them if you really want to, since that's where I found them, but rest assured they're all very rude.

Disclaimer:

Any allusions to events that don't make sense will later, though you could probably link them to one of the games if you wanted to.  
Yes, there are hints of LinkxSheik in the flashbacks. I assure you these apply only to Hero of Time Link. This is Dark LinkxSheik.  
Yes, there's a Potter Puppet Pals reference buried in here, and I don't own them either.

* * *

_It would not be until many years later that Sheik would understand how part of the Hero's restless spirit (the Hero from the Time That Never Was) could come to him for help when the new Hero, alive and well, could be running throughout the land fighting Ganondorf once more. Nevertheless, the spirit appeared to him shortly after the Hero of Twilight began his journey._

_The spirit of the Hero of Time did not speak, but his eyes told all. Those sad blue eyes that looked at him with an expression that Sheik couldn't quite name, a longing that Sheik was sure no other would ever understand. He wasn't even certain how the Hero found him there, in the Dark Realm. He shouldn't have been able to find him, spirit or no. _

_But he did._

_'I cannot rest, Sheik, so long as the new Hero is still so unprepared. There is no one to teach him the knowledge he requires. I have no form to hold a sword. I had you, and he will not.'_

_No, he would not. The Sheikah role in this tale wasn't his, however. . . _

_Sheik was never quite sure what made those next words spill from his lips as his bloody eyes gazed through the spirit and into the distance, towards where he knew Dark Link resided in that realm. "I can fix that." _

* * *

A look passed between Dark Link and Sheik as little Link began to stir. Wordlessly, Dark Link sat back down again, pulling the child to rest in his arms as Sheik vanished in a flash.

Sheik reappeared in a tree overlooking the village square. His needles were in his hand almost without a thought as angry eyes searched for his prey, the ones who had dared to harm the little Hero. A commotion near Link's uncle's house caught his attention, and silent as the shadow he was, Sheik crept closer.

"Where is he?" Two helmeted Zora held Link's uncle restrained against one charred wall of his house. Another, smaller than the other two, held a spear to his neck. "I will not ask you again! What have you done with Link?" The smallest Zora's fins were blade-sharp and jutting straight from his arms, a sign of his anger.

The man, so big and tough (head and shoulders taller than the small Zora,easily) in the images Sheik had seen, was trembling now as he stammered out, "G-gone! The bandits took him!"

The smallest Zora pressed the tip of the spear hard enough against the human's neck to draw blood. "Do not lie to me!" His fins twitched, as though desperate to slice through the thick neck.

A loud clang and a cry of pain made the Zoras turn. The mayor, their captive's brother, knelt on the ground with a shovel at his feet, clutching his right hand. A long, thin, silver needle protruded from it.

"I wouldn't do that if I were_ you, __Ibn himar putz__._"

("Two already. I wouldn't want to be him. That usually gets me kicked in the face." Dark Link would later comment when Sheik showed him what had happened.

Sheik's muttered response sounded suspiciously like "you usually deserve it.")

Sheik dropped to the ground a few feet behind the downed man, his one visible red eye narrowed in anger. Although the sky was clouded and nearing twilight with no sun to speak of, Sheik cast a long, dark shadow. Had anyone bothered to examine it closely, they might have noticed that it seemed off, somehow, like it didn't quite fit him. Most of the villagers' attention, however, remained locked on his bloody, demonic eye.

"Who the hell are you?" The mayor howled, still clutching his hand. Sheik chose not to answer, pushing the larger man to the ground with his booted foot and making a very rude hand gesture.

("Three!" Dark Link crowed.)

He stalked past him, over to where the three Zora had Link's uncle trapped. The smallest, Prince Ralis, Sheik finally noted, stepped back to give him space, wide uncertain eyes locked on the Sheikah crest.

"Tell me something, shizza ficken ," ("Four.") the Sheikah began quietly, though his light tone belied his simmering fury, "do you own a sword and shield?"

Link's uncle stared at him incredulously, as though uncertain that he had understood the question. "Yes, I do." He answered warily.

Sheik nodded, his piercing gaze remaining fixed on the captive. "When you fight, if indeed a cowardly _human_ like you is brave enough to to ever do so ("Five. You hate cowards."), do you hide your sword behind your shield?"

Sheik couldn't see the faces of the helmeted Zoras, but he saw the Prince's brow furrow as Link's uncle blinked, then sputtered. He was no coward! The man tried to draw himself up to look more intimidating, but his captors put a stop to that with a jab from one of their spears. He squeaked. "You'd have to be an idiot to do that!"

Sheik's hands moved so quickly that nobody realized he'd so much as twitched until Link's uncle cried out, a needle embedded in his cheek. "The Heart of Hyrule is no idiot, I can assure you _salope putain,  
_

[This was one Dark Link had taught Sheik years ago (he'd been stupid enough to call the Sheikah by it once, and nearly lost something very precious to him when Sheik demanded to know what it meant. Dark Link, Dark at the time, had told him, and for his honesty was let off easy by only being knocked unconscious for two days), and his resulting laughter made him miss most of the rest of Sheik's snarled rant, including what Dark Link had once dubbed the Elder Swear, a long rambling thing Sheik had picked up goddesses only knew where.]

but because of your actions and those of;" he vehemently spat a vengeful, nasty curse no other knew, but the sheer malice with which it shot from his mouth made everyone present cringe, "like you, her improperly forged Sword is now forced to take cover behind her Shield."

Sheik paused then, taking a breath in a futile attempt to calm himself before he completely snapped, looking around at the gathered villagers critically. "A sword is formed by heat and flame, but also by the care and love the swordsmith gives it." Had they been able to see his lips, they would have seen the cruel smile that twisted it. "A poorly crafted blade will be brittle and weak, guaranteed to break when it is needed most." He turned to Link's uncle again, his eyes like the red ice that had once encased Ralis' ancestor (in the Time That Never Was). "Would you fight with a brittle blade, _ubed-osuk_?"

("Minish?" Dark Link had asked in surprise. "Didn't know you spoke that." A pause, then, "Seven?"

A resulting eye-roll from Sheik. "Eight, Dark Link. You missed one.")

The man was still huffing, the needle protruding from his face, but Sheik's gaze was piercing, demanding an answer. He stammered out a negative. Sheik leaned in close, grasped the needle between slender, bandaged fingers, and yanked it free, causing the man to howl again.

"Then why did you think you could condemn Hyrule to do so, _abruti_?" ("Still eight. That was a repeat.") Disgusted, he pulled back. "When this place falls, and it will, you'll have no one to blame but yourselves when Link doesn't appear to save you." His eyes raked over the crowd, their intensity causing those gathered to shiver.

Terrified, but not wanting to appear weak before the people of the village, Link's uncle shouted, "the little runt got just what he deserved, and his witch of a mother too!" (Dark Link's amusement abruptly vanished.)

Sheik's eyes flashed from blood to ruby. A voice that was his and yet wasn't snarled in his mind, 'Kill him. Cut out his tongue. Kill them all. Bathe in their blood. ' His shadow seemed to shake, as though its caster were laughing, though Sheik himself was still as stone. Nimbly he whirled, dagger drawn and poised to slit the other's throat.

Sheik's hand trembled. 'Kill him. Kill him. . .KILL HIM!' The voice shrieked in his mind. (Sheik was glad the images he showed Dark Link didn't reflect his thoughts.) Sheik let out an angry snarl, throwing the dagger to bury to the hilt in the dry, cracked ground. Without orders from the princess, Sheik could not kill. Never before had he so regretted this.

(Sheik cut the image here; Dark Link was already shaking with rage. "I'll kill them. Take me there, Sheik!"

Sheik gave him a deadpan stare, only just hiding his own emotions behind the mask, though his eyes reflected how dearly he wanted to abide by Dark Link's wish. "You know I cannot do that. The princess will not allow it."

"Why the fu-OW!" Dark Link let out a yelp and rubbed his bruised head, his pout seeming to lessen his anger, if only slightly. "How come you can curse all you want and I get hit before I finish a word of it?" He demanded sourly.

Sheik snorted. "Because I'm not cursing the princess, that's why.")

Sheik heard a gasp and turned his head, locking eyes with the young prince. In a flash he was gone, his dagger abandoned. Ralis knelt beside it, pulling it with some difficulty from the dirt.

There, glinting dully up at him, was the bloodied Eye of Truth, symbol of the Sheikah, the forgotten protectors of Hyrule. If he'd been uncertain before, there was no doubt now. The dagger was lighter than the Hylian variety, perfectly aerodynamic and designed for throwing. Its weight belied its deadly strength, much as its bearer's small stature disguised his. Closing his eyes for just a moment, Ralis let a smile curl over his lips. Turning to his guards, he stowed the dagger in his bag, his fingers brushing for a moment over the blue fabric held within. It was a new Zora tunic, a gift for young Link's seventh birthday. Ralis' eyes darkened.

"There is nothing more for us to do here. If the Shield of Hyrule has Link, then he is as safe as he could possibly be." Ralis turned back to Link's uncle, his voice raised so all could hear him. "By the laws of the King of Hyrule I have no power to punish you for what you have done, but know this: you all henceforth banned from my people's lands. If any of you dare to enter our waters, we will not hesitate to kill you."

Before they left Ralis lashed out one more time, catching Link's uncle harshly upside the head with the staff of his spear. The man fell with a howl, and the three Zora walked away, heads held high as they sneered with disgust at the humans and Hylians before them.

* * *

Still fighting the urge to wring the King's neck for his stupidity Sheik did not immediately report to the princess. Instead, he decided to check in on one of his. . . projects.

He appeared in an empty courtyard, long overgrown with weeds. Though part of the palace, it was obvious that nobody had set foot there in decades, perhaps centuries. There was an empty pedestal there, barely visible under the vines and weeds, but that wasn't what interested him. Behind the pedestal the wall bore an inscription, a large eye with four swords above it; ancient writing inscribed about its edges told the tale of a Hero who had once used the sword to defend Hyrule from an evil wizard.

Or at least, that was what any Hylian would see. But Sheik could see the truth, could see clearly past the illusion he maintained of the old shrine. In truth, the old inscriptions had been gone for many years, replaced instead by a large Sheikah eye, roughly the same height as an average Hylian. The red of the design still shone brightly despite the years, preserved by Sheik's magic. It was this eye he approached, stopping before the glowing pupil to peer inside.

A small figure- too small really, to truly be a Hylian, despite his pointed ears- wrapped in a violet cloak floated curled up in a fetal position, seemingly asleep in an orb of gleaming white. Soft winds blew around him like a comforting caress, pushing lavender bangs back from pale grey-purple skin. Despite the gentleness of the breeze around him his face was contorted in something like pain, his mind trapped in a terrible dream. His lips moved, quiet pleas only barely audible.

Sheik ignored the boy inside, instead examining the orb-prison critically, a frown tugging at his face beneath the cowl. A jagged line of black ran through the white still, and until it was gone he could not risk testing the results of his spell.

Sheik swore softly, his still unsettled temper spiking, eyes flashing momentarily ruby and almost causing him to lose sight of his subject. With a malicious jerk of his hand the figure shuddered, red eyes which were neither blood nor ruby slowly blinking open.

He looked about his prison, slowly rising to a sitting position though he floated on nothing. Invisible bonds of magic kept him from moving far, but eventually his wide, pained eyes found Sheik. "_Usamihsiageno_. . ."

"No. You're not ready yet." Sheik snapped. "But I think some time awake will do you good. Get rid of that," He gestured to the streak of remaining darkness, "and then we'll talk." He turned to leave and the other's eyes widened, scrambling as though to chase after him, though the magic of the orb kept him struggling in place.

"_Usamihsiageno! _ Please, I'm sorry! _ Usamihsiageno_, Sheikah!" His cries unheeded, the project slumped back, burying his head in his hands. "_Asaduk etihsuruy_. Forgive me."

Sheik left him trapped there in that orb of white, trapped as the project had once bid Dark Link to trap the Sheikah, confined in a mirror of darkness.

When he materialized in the shadows of Prince Zelda's chambers, Impa's brown eyes flicked to him almost immediately. Though her line possessed little more than a drop of Sheikah blood these days, she always seemed acutely aware of his presence. Zelda's crystal blues followed only a heartbeat later, and Sheik stepped forward to bow on one knee, right arm crossed over his chest respectfully.

The ten-year-old princess made her way to him, placing one gloved hand on his shoulder. Her light and warmth wrapped around him when she smiled and he breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the noxious air clinging to him recede.

"Have you found him, dear Sheik?" She asked softly. Sheik hung his head in shame, reaching up to clasp her hand in his, automatically checking the concealing charm he'd used to cover the Triforce on the day of her birth even as he sought comfort from the touch.

"Indeed princess, I have found him." Said Sheik, careful to keep his voice neutral. The princess, however, wasn't fooled.

"Something happened to him, didn't it Sheik?" She asked him softly, dreading the answer. "Something bad."

"Yes, princess. Something did." His eyes closed briefly, wanting to protect his young charge and yet knowing she had a right to the knowledge. "He was. . . injured, princess. Harmed by the very people who should have cherished him. I. . .Dark Link and I found him; he's watching over him now."

Zelda's eyes closed in resignation. "I tried to will my dreams to show him to me, but they would not. I knew something wasn't right. It was because of my father's law, wasn't it?" She asked, though her expression said she already knew.

"Yes, it was because of his blessing." Sheik answered, fixing his eyes on her. "But you needn't worry any longer, princess. He is as safe as he could possibly be now, safer than he would be anywhere in Hyrule. We will look after him until the time comes that he is needed."

Princess Zelda nodded solemnly. "I fear that time will come sooner than we'd like." Her eyes lingered on Sheik's cast shadow, larger and darker than the light in the room warranted. "Promise me something, Sheik."

His head bowed low. "I can deny you nothing, princess."

Her small arms wrapped around him, pulling him against her chest in an embrace. He allowed it. "Please Sheik," she whispered, pulling back and brushing his hair from his face so she could see his eyes clearly, "promise me you won't forget."

Sheik could not know what he was promising. He rarely could where she was concerned, but he knew that whatever it was, it would be important. "I promise." He murmured, his gaze sincere.

Zelda shivered. He would do his best and more, she knew, but this time, she wasn't so certain he would be able to keep his word.

* * *

_That Hero's spirit appeared to him only once more, serenely smiling. Tucked under his arm was a shining golden helmet, the last remnants of Sheik's spell. _

_'Thank you Sheik. I have taught him all he needs to learn. Now I shall trust Hyrule to him, and I shall rest.' _

_Sheik saw what the Hero wanted to say reflected in his eyes, and he smiled under his cowl as he gave a respectful bow. "Rest well, Hero of Time." The spirit faded, and a frown tugged on Sheik's lips. If the Hero's spirit had been released from his spell, then. . ._

_Sheik ducked, a tarnished, cracked helmet sailing over his head to crash into the rock behind him with an ear-splitting clang. _

"_SHEIKAH!" Snarled the enraged shadow, throwing a damaged round shield and equally aged breastplate next, the stalfos-like illusion around him disintegrating. "How DARE you bind me to that bastard! I ought to KILL YOU!" Dark Link leapt for Sheik, who was faster and just managed to flip out of the way. _

_He didn't expect Dark Link to utilize one of the Hero's hidden skills. In a modified version of the Back Slice, Dark Link rolled around behind Sheik and shoved him hard. Before Sheik could recover Dark Link pounced on him again, pinning him to the ground with his hands above his head. _

_Dark Link loomed over him, breathing hard. His head was bowed, hair hiding his face from Sheik's all-knowing gaze. "This is all your fault, because you stuck me with him and his damned emotions!" He snapped. _

_Sheik never had a chance to respond to that. Dark Link's free hand tore his cowl from his face, pressing his lips to Sheik's urgently. _

_And Sheik. . . Sheik found he didn't mind so much, responding to the heated kiss just as fervently. _


	5. He Will Jump Dark Link's Bones

It's finals week.

Why am I working on a fanfic during finals week?

Because my reviewers are awesome and you guys totally deserve it, that's why. Be sure to thank Sergeant Dreamer, whose review of awesome managed to get me to finish this chapter up.

And besides, fanfiction Physics. Because the laws of simple, unbreakable, magical physics make way more sense. Especially Sheikah Physics. Yeah.

So, how much energy must there be in a Deku nut in order to transport Sheik across realms? Um. . .

* * *

"_I just don't understand it." Sheik sat back against the side of the princess's desk with a dull thump. "Every time I think I'm making progress with him, a new hero appears and we're right back where we started! It's like. . . like. . . " _

"_Like every negative emotion he'd learned to overcome has overwhelmed him all over again." The princess supplied helpfully. This Zelda was young, not yet twenty, but with her sharp eye and quick actions, she'd managed to avoid a major revival of Ganondorf with only minimal help from the Hero. Impressive, considering seven generations had passed since the last Hero was needed._

"_Yes," said Sheik softly, twisting his head back to look up at her. "Yes, that's exactly it." _

_For a time she was quiet, chewing thoughtfully on the tip of her quill. "Are all shadows sentient, Sheik?" She asked suddenly, blue eyes regarding him thoughtfully._

_Sheik frowned beneath his cowl. "No, princess. All but the most powerful shadows are little better than animals." _

"_And what makes them so powerful, dear Sheik?" She asked, though she knew the answer already. _

"_Rebirth." He said softly. "The more incarnations of the soul, the stronger the light. The stronger the light, the deeper the shadow." It was, after all, what had made the princess' own darkness so dangerous. _

"_But the evil a light gains during life isn't always given to its shadow, for if it were, Ganondorf would cease to plague Hyrule." She was leading him now, trying to bring him to the same conclusion she'd already drawn. _

"_No, Ganondorf is a different case. He's never truly died, so all of his darkness remains inside of him. Normally, when a light is born, any evil remaining from their past life is shunted to their shadow. It's why the little ones shine so brightly. . ." His eyes grew wide with sudden understanding. "Link is the Hero, and the Hero is Link, but the darkness of Dark Link is that of the Hero, not just his vessel. The soul of the Hero is not fully reborn, and thus not cleansed, until he awakens." _

_Zelda's voice was soft and sad as she added. "And by virtue of being the hero, he is exposed to far more darkness in a single lifetime than most souls see in twenty."_

_Sheik's head hung, his eyes closing as though to block the truth he now saw so clearly. "but the Hero doesn't always awaken. Sometimes he sleeps for Link's entire life." _

"_And the darkness builds." Said Zelda softly. _

"_So when Dark Link finally receives it. . ." _

"_It's far more than his sanity can take." Finished Zelda. _

_For a time Sheik was silent, contemplative. When he spoke, his voice was hollow, saddened. "He becomes unstable. He proved that well enough with the Hero of the Four Swords. If only. . .If only I could help him, somehow, stop the darkness from consuming him every single time." _

_Zelda took Sheik's bandaged hand in hers, the golden Triforce glowing reassuringly.  
_

"_If only I could siphon it away from him, send it elsewhere." He'd thought of sealing him as he'd sealed the Minish, but that method was too slow, and simply unfeasible. He could not give up Dark Link for so long. Then, even if it did work, it would only last a single Hylian life time. _

"_The dark energy must go somewhere, Sheik. It needs a vessel of its own." Zelda murmured, her eyes on her Triforce mark. His gaze followed hers._

"_A vessel. . .That's it!" Sheik leaped to his feet nimbly, excitement only just hidden as his red eyes sparkled. "If you will excuse me, princess." A quick, formal bow, as was proper. _

"_Of course Sheik." She nodded, and with a flash he was gone._

* * *

The boy woke slowly to the feel of a moist cloth on his forehead. He opened his eyes blearily, blinking as a thought flitted through his mind.

_Why is it so dark? It's not usually this dark, is it? _

His brows drew together in confusion as he tried to recall a time when the world was brighter, but to his alarm he could not. Although something about the place felt _wrong_, he couldn't say just what it was. Before he'd been elsewhere, hadn't he?

With a jolt, he realized that he didn't remember where he'd been any better than he remembered where he was. He didn't remember anything at all. Panicked, the boy shot upright, only to sway and nearly fall over, a pair of gray-clad arms catching him quickly.

"Careful, careful!" The gray arms lowered him slowly back to the ground, resting his head on a bed roll. "Don't move too quickly Link. The red potion and the fairy helped, but you were hurt pretty badly there, kiddo."

The boy's frowned, confused. Hurt? Who hurt him? He didn't feel hurt. He opened his mouth to say so, only to turn to the side as he cough harshly, his throat dry and tongue heavy with a strange aftertaste that vaguely made him think of. . .whatever it was, he didn't much like it. The gray arms sat him up again, pale hands lifting a bottle of water to his mouth. He took a sip, feeling the cool liquid slide down his throat, soothing it.

As he drank, the boy looked up at the owner of the gray arms. His skin was as pale as the material of the shirt the boy wore, his hair inky black and eyes a burning red. His expression, even in the dim light, was obviously concerned. He set the water aside, and the boy managed to get a look at his clothes. His tunic was as black as his hair, the undershirt a dark gray. Around his neck something glinted almost unnaturally given the dim light, a white crystal swirled through with black, inscribed with a strange crying crimson eye.

"Are you alright there, Vio?" Asked the owner of the gray arms softly.

Shaken from his thoughts, the boy, _Vio_, looked up at the owner of the-

_Shadow._ _His name is Shadow. _

Shadow, then. "I-I think so." Said Vio slowly. "I don't hurt. But I can't remember anything."

Shadow's lips pulled down in a confused frown. "Anything?"

"Well, I'm Vio, and you're Shadow, right? But. . .where am I? How did I get here? Have I always been here?" Vio felt the panic rising again, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to repress the urge. It seemed a senseless thing to do, really, but he couldn't help it! He searched his mind for something, anything, but trying to think only made his head ache and he groaned.

Shadow rubbed his back soothingly. Well_ bugger_, what was he supposed to do now? Sheik would know, Sheik always knew, but Sheik wasn't back yet. His best bet, he supposed, would be to keep the kid occupied until Sheik returned, hopefully with Vio's tormentors properly punished. "Tell you what," he said finally, "I bet you would like a bath, wouldn't you? There's someone who can answer your questions better than I can, but we'll have to wait for him, alright?"

Vio looked down at himself, only then noticing that the reddish splotches were sticky, almost like. . .

Shadow pulled his attention away from the cloth quickly by scooping him up. "Come on, there's a stream right around here where we can get you cleaned up."

Shadow carried Vio through an almost-hidden cave in the little nook and through a tunnel, emerging near a clear stream. When Vio protested that he could walk on his own ("I'm not a baby!"), Shadow set him down. Shadow's shape shifted and shrank as he took on a younger form. Vio, unsure whether this was normal behavior or not, just eyed him curiously as Shadow stripped to his underclothes and dove eagerly into the water with a loud whoop.

He surfaced with a yelp at the chill of it, but gave Vio a smile. "Come on Vio, it's not that cold!"

Vio grinned and stripped off his splotchy undershirt, pausing for a moment when he encountered a round jewel nestled against his chest. He gripped the chain to pull it off.

"No! No, wait," Shadow had slipped from the water with every intention of suprise-dunking the boy when he noticed him about to remove the Moon Pearl. "You can't take that off Vio."

Vio blinked, only then noticing that Shadow's own gem still glinted about his neck, dripping beads of water from its surface. "Why not?"

'Because. . . Because Sheik will explain it later, but just promise me you won't, ok?" He held up the crystal about his own neck, the black swirls within it whirling with the movement as the red eye shone. "See, I have one too. Sheik gave it to me, and I can never take it off, get it? Same with you."

Vio nodded slowly. "If you say so Shadow, I won't take it off."

Shadow gave him a playful grin. "Good, now, last one in's a baby cuckoo!" Whirling about, Shadow ran to the edge of the bank and back flipped off it gracefully, Vio following suit only a moment later.

_Water all around, suffocating. He wasn't wearing blue! He couldn't get into the water unless he was wearing blue or he'd drown! The water rose, surrounding him, pressing, pushing, couldn't breathe couldn't speak couldn't scream couldn't couldn't couldn't- RALIS! SHADOW! Anyone. . . _

He broke the surface with a gasp, Shadow, adult again, clutching him against his chest. "Bloody frickin- Are you trying to scare to me death? Why didn't you tell me you can't swim? _Merde!" _

Shivering, Vio clung to Shadow, who grabbed up their clothes and hurried back to the camp, settling Vio near the fire and wrapping his own black tunic around the boy. Vio shivered violently, trying to clear his head of the awful feeling.

Neither was certain how long they sat there before a bright flash caused Shadow to hiss, turning to glare darkly at a newly-arrived Sheikah. Before Sheik had a chance to say a word Shadow grabbed his arm and pulled him away.

"We've got a problem."

* * *

Hours later, after Sheik had answered Vio's questions as best he could [or rather, as well as he would, given that he had assured the boy that they had found him after an accident (partially true), and were his guardians now (also true). He hadn't said a word about the boy's mother, promising he'd tell him when he was older (or rather, Dark Link thought, when it suited him to do so). The necklace, he'd said, was a good luck charm of sorts and would keep him safe as long as he wore it (again, a half-truth).], given the boy supper [Dark Link had plainly forgotten that light dwellers needed to eat (as opposed to shadows who only did so for fun) but Sheik hadn't, and he'd brought back some stew and bread from Castle Town.], and settled him down to sleep (he'd had a very tiring day, and was exhausted already), Dark Link slipped off to the Thieves' Town, and returned with a length of violet-colored fabric which almost exactly matched what Vio had worn all those lifetimes ago. Sheik was not impressed.

"The Hero doesn't wear purple." Sheik narrowed his eyes at the fabric spread across Dark Link's knees. The shadow, his fingers moving nimbly as they guided the lesser shadows into shaping and stitching the tunic, stuck his tongue out childishly.

"And green would make him an instant target. Nobody in the Dark World wears green." Dark responded as he flipped the fabric over. Both kept their voices low, Vio sleeping nearby.

"I don't like that you've told him his name is Vio either. The Hero's name is-"

"Oh bloody hell Sheik!" Dark Link whisper-yelled, misdirecting the lesser shadow in his irritation and stabbing himself with the shadow-needle. He swore, pulling the fabric away as wisps of black blood leaked from the wound for a moment before the shadows healed it. "Hero this, Hero that! He's not the Hero yet! He's just a kid!"

"Do you see that over there?" Sheik jerked his head in the direction of the swirling cloud, a deeper black than the night of the Dark Realm. "You know what that means. We don't have long, and I won't have the strength to restrain him. We will _need_ the Hero in Green! Whatever feelings you're harboring for this particular part of him-"

Dark Link was on him in a moment, lips pressed to Sheik's to silence him. "Sheik, shut up. I know. Alright? I know. We can start training him once he wakes up. You and me. I'll teach him the Hidden Skills when he's ready for them and you'll take him through the Sheikah training you keep wanting to give him. Hell, who knows, maybe you'll manage to make him into the perfect mold of your bloody Hero of Fucking Time-"

Sheik yanked Dark Link forward, giving him a harsh kiss of his own. Tongues battled, teeth clashed, and when they finally pulled away Sheik's eyes were closer to ruby than blood, his shadow a shade darker. "Do not bring him into this." Sheik growled.

"You started it." Spat Dark Link moodily, turning to return to his work.

Sheik caught him by the back of his belt, yanking the other down onto his lap. "And I will finish it." He murmured, his lips latching onto Dark Link's neck. Dark link bit his bruised lip to repress a groan, shooting an anxious glance towards the thankfully still-sleeping Vio.

"Sheik, wait, what if he wakes up?" He tried to disentangle himself from the Sheikah's groping grasp with little success.

"Be quiet then." Sheik murmured, his assault never letting up as Dark Link's belt dropped to the dusty ground.

* * *

Roughly the equivalent of a lot of energy in that Deku nut. . .

Alrighty, so, those two obviously have some relationship insecurities to work out. LinkxSheik and VioxShadow are admittedly two of my favorite pairings, hence the fun tension I'm getting to work in here.

And yeah. Wow. First paragraph of the last scene. That was one really, really long sentence. Actually, that scene was one of the first in my head when I started this fic. Well, the beginning anyway. "The Hero doesn't wear purple." With the exception of Four Swords, he usually doesn't. Special outfits are blue or red most of the time. Hence, this scene.

Thank you to the reviewers of Chapter Three that I forgot to thank last chapter: Kaenith (Well, there's his reaction. Bah Bah Baaaaahhh. Amnesia.), and darkwolflink1 (Bet you don't still think I work faster. Heh heh. Sorry. I figured with all the spare time he must have he probably learned some extra languages. Actually I'm getting myself a bit stuck. I want Link to be adorable, but Red's the cute one, not Vio. Oh well. He's little, he can be cute.).

And thank you to the Chapter Four reviewers Beyond Backup (This thing isn't going to leave me be. Haha. It probably will get finished.), Kick-Aft (I had fun writing Ralis' part. He's not done yet, not by a long shot. . .), and Sergeant Dreamer, whose long review of awesome helped me get this chapter finished (There really isn't enough of the pairing, and most of what you find is fem!Sheik and/or noncon. If this were posted elsewhere there'd already be two lemons, and there's an opportunity for a third coming. I don't want to risk this account, so maybe the full version will be posted elsewhere eventually.)


	6. Birth of the Dark Mirror

I wrote this during finals week. Why is it that I get so many more ideas when I should NOT be writing them? So, this chapter contains another slightly disturbing scene, this one as a flashback. A lot of the flashbacks in the next few chapters will be set around Four Swords Adventure, mostly using events from the manga. This whole thing with the Dark Mirror was a consequence of me wondering "so, if Sheik was there, why couldn't he stop Dark Link?" Well, here's my reason, along with some light-hearted fun to keep this from having too much angst.

* * *

_Every cleansing of the Hero's soul shifted the darkest of his emotions to his shadow, to Dark Link. It was strange, really, how the spirit of the Hero and Link were joined; one and yet not, the Hero always Link, though Link was not always the Hero. Even when he slept, the spirit of the Hero protected Link, kept him pure. Lifetimes of darkness seen and felt by the vessel was bound up in the soul of the Hero until his awakening, and then, like a rancid chamber pot from a high castle window, it was all dumped on Dark Link's head. _

_Anger, pride, lust, envy, desire, greed, jealousy, distrust, resentment. . .every single bit of it. _

_It was enough to drive even a normal man insane. _

_And so, when the Evil in the Dark Realm began to whisper into his ears and play on those emotions, Dark Link listened. When it murmured to him that Sheik loved Zelda and Link more than he loved him, Dark Link didn't question it, because he knew of one Link that Sheik loved more, one Zelda who had been very dear to him, a pair that he, Dark Link, especially hated. When the Evil promised that it could secure the Sheikah for him, keep him from that wretched girl and her blasted Hero (who, having faced and resealed Guufuu once already, was already awake), Dark Link didn't doubt it. When it told him what he had to do, Dark Link agreed to it without a second thought. _

_It was the best, and worst, decision of his life. _

_He found Sheik where he usually in times like those, standing near the leaking barrier of Ganondorf's prison, using his magic to attempt to reseal the cracks that came with his stirring power. Dark Link approached Sheik silently, but the Sheikah still sensed him. There was no startling a Sheikah. _

_He cackled. He couldn't help it. The slim little Sheikah, so much power packed into such a small form. It was that power the Evil wanted, and Dark Link didn't mind letting him have it, so long as Sheik remained his. _

_He relished in Sheik's puzzled expression as those bloody eyes took in his young teen body, always a gangly, awkward age Dark Link had never cared for. Stupid Hero. But the annoyance of it was only a minor price to pay. _

"_What are you doing, Dark Link? You hate that form." Sheik's confusion, beginning to tint with the stirrings of fear (not that anyone else would be able to tell), was delicious, Dark Link thought, a grin spreading. He couldn't wait to rip off that cowl and taste it. _

_Patience was never a virtue of his. An insane grin spread over his face as he closed in on the wary but willing Sheik, tearing the cowl from his face and pressing their lips together hungrily. Sheik's arms snaked around Dark Link's shoulders as he started to respond. His senses stirred, and Sheik stiffiened before abruptly pulling back, their proximity allowing him to see the blackness of the borrowed magic surrounding Dark Link. He possessed not only the power of the Hero, but the taint of Evil that wasn't his. Sheik had been pouring his own strength into the barrier for weeks; he didn't stand a chance. His hand went for his Deku nut pouch, but Dark Link grabbed his wrist in a bruising grip, tossing the pouch away before pressing their bodies closer._

_Sheik writhed like a captured snake to try to break Dark Link's grip (and normally he would have been able to, but circumstances were hardly normal just then), but Dark Link only laughed, seizing his other wrist and throwing Sheik to the ground. He kept him there with one knee pressed to his back and his hands pinned above his head. Sheik attempted to twist under him and Dark Link dug his knee in hard enough to break a Hylian's ribs, his unnatural (even for him) strength keeping the otherwise slippery Sheikah down._

_Dark Link relished the feeling of power, taking a sadistic sort of pleasure from Sheik's continued struggles. He leaned in close, dark aura flaring as he hissed, "you will never see your stupid princess or your useless Hero ever again. I will destroy them both, and you will be mine and mine alone." Sheik was his obsession, and Dark Link wouldn't deny it. _

_He would, however, say it was the Sheikah's own damn fault for binding him to the Hero of Time for that Hero's Shade nonsense, however long ago that had been._

_Sheik snarled, catching him in the back of the head with a forceful kick no Hylian could have managed. Dark Link pitched forward with a grunt, his grip loosening just enough to allow Sheik to twist one hand free and catch Dark Link in the face with his elbow, knocking him off Sheik and onto his back. Sheik rolled away from him and to his feet, pulling a spare Deku nut from his wrappings. "__Dummes huhn! __What has gotten into you? What do you think you're doing, Dark Link? Have you forgotten already what Ganondorf did to you-"_

_Dark Link lunged, catching him by the throat and hurling him against the side of the holy barrier, forcing him to drop the Deku nut harmlessly some feet away from them. Dark Link held him there with one iron-hard hand against his neck, careful not to touch the barrier himself lest it flare and burn him. "I know very well what Lord Ganondorf is about to do for me." He cackled, "He's going to give me the power to destroy that bastard Link and that bloody princess, and he's going to make you help me do it." _

_He didn't give Sheik time to answer, free palm raised to the sky as he shouted out a curse of darkness, black lightning shooting from the cracks in the barrier to engulf Sheik. Sheik tried to fight the spell with his own shadow magic, and perhaps were he not so exhausted he would have succeeded. _

_The Evil's power overwhelmed him and he screamed, his body convulsing, bending in ways even a Sheikah shouldn't when Dark Link released his grasp. The dark energy lifted him, surrounding him in a solid sizzling cocoon, his cries intensifying as his body stretched, his form blurring. The energy flared, and then contracted in a flash of nothingness, leaving behind a tall, ornate black mirror. _

_Dark Link chuckled as he placed a hand on it, giving a pleased sigh when he felt the Dark Mirror's power wash over him. Peering into its depths, his unhinged grin only widened at the sight he beheld._

_Sheik, his body battered and bruised, hung suspended in the void of the mirror, arms spread to either side and his head slumped forward in unconsciousness, loose blond locks hiding his face. A dark aura surrounded him, his power being pulled from him as quickly as he could replace it, siphoned off to the barrier, to Dark Link, and to the weakening seal on the Four Sword._

* * *

Sheik was tired again. It seemed he was always tired lately. Each day he made his way to the center of the Dark World to strengthen the bonds on Ganondorf's seal, a draining process. Even with his efforts, however, he knew the seal wouldn't last much longer. When he reached this point, it never did.

But little Link and Dark Link didn't need to worry about it yet, so he didn't tell them. He did, however, start training little Link. The boy had never so much as held a sword in Hyrule (not that he would remember if he did), but he learned fast.

"You're getting better Link. Keep practicing your stances. I want to see you complete every one perfectly twenty times before dinner." Said Sheik as he laid his wooden sword aside and settled himself on a log to rest. They never did get around to building that house Dark Link mentioned. They had no need for it, really, and Link didn't mind sleeping on a bedroll outside.

"Yes Master Sheik." Answered the boy seriously, formal as he always was when training. He'd read in one of his books that students ought to address their trainers as such, and he'd done it ever since.

"Bah. Enough of this stances nonsense! You're good enough for some real training!" Announced Dark Link haughtily, grabbing up Sheik's discarded sword. He took a fighting stance across from Link, sword raised.

He yelped in protest when shadows rose up around him, surrounding him completely. Sheik watched with a bland look and Link with a grin as Dark Link's deep voice cracked in the middle of his yell and raised an octave or so. When the shadows pulled back (Dark Link could _swear _the bloody things were laughing at him!) he'd been forced into the guise of a boy small for his age of seven-nearly-eight.

Screaming in frustration Dark Link railed at the sky, shaking his fist at it comically while he ranted. "How the hell is he supposed to learn to fight against someone bigger than him if I'm not allowed to keep an older form when I'm fighting him! This is not _fair_! I'm the only one who can teach him! Sheik's too short!-gah!" Dark Link ducked as a dagger sailed overhead to embed itself in one of the twisted trees of the Dark World.

"I am not_ short_." Bit out the irate Sheikah, bloody eyes narrowed.

Link (only Dark Link called him Vio, he later learned, as only he could call Dark Link Shadow) laughed, well used to the pair's behavior by now. "Quit messing around Shadow! Sheik won't let me have my book back until dinner, and I can't have dinner until I'm done training!"

Grumbling, Dark Link retrieved his sword. "Alright, alright. Spar with me, then dinner time." Without another moment's warning Dark Link leaped at him, sword raised. Link blocked, the pair parted and Link moved in for a horizontal slice, which Dark Link blocked with swing of his own, quickly overpowering his partner. Link jumped back out of the way and lunged while Dark Link's momentum still carried him forward. Dark Link recovered and nimbly dodged, grabbing Link's arm and pulling him off balance, causing him to fall flat on his face. Dark Link bopped him on the head lightly.

"One." he announced with a grin. Link scowled and rolled to his feet, retaliating with an upward slice, but Dark Link back flipped away. Link didn't let up, following him with a jump attack. Again, Dark Link easily blocked him.

"Come on Vio, you gotta do better than that!" He taunted, pushing forward with enough force to knock Link flat on his back. His next blow aimed at the boy's chest; hitting the dirt instead and sending a cloud of dust into the air.

Link used the momentary cover to attempt the jump attack again, leaping towards his shadow with a loud "Hyaa!" Dark Link twisted out of the way and smacked Link's behind with the wooden sword, earning a shriek of protest.

"Hey!" Link glared as he rubbed his bottom gingerly.

"Two." Replied Dark Link smugly. "Next time you want to try a sneak attack, you might want to avoid announcing it to the world."

Sheik sighed as he watched them, little Link trying his hardest to land a hit, and Dark Link only playing with him. Three hits decided the winner of their little matches, and Link had yet to land a single hit in nearly a year of training, though he never stopped trying. Only natural, of course, given Dark Link's level of experience, but they didn't have much time. . .

Link parried Dark Link's blow and swung with one of his own, aiming for Dark Link's midsection. Dark Link jumped and flipped in mid-air, nimbly landing on Link's blade and waving cheekily at him. Link squeaked in surprise and dropped his sword, jumping backwards. Dark Link gave a startled yell at having his perch dropped out from under him, and_,_landed flat on his butt in the dirt.

"Oof!" He grunted, glaring as Sheik started to snicker and Link clamped a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing outright. "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

"Serves you right." Sheik grinned behind his cowl as Link attempted to sneak up on Dark Link (without the yell this time) while he was distracted. Dark Link, however, was having none of that and shifted back to his normal adult form before grabbing Link and pulling him into his lap.

"Three!" He cowed triumphantly, tickling Link mercilessly.

Link laughed and squirmed to get free. "I give! I give! Sheik, help!"

Sheik plucked Link from Dark Link's grasp, setting him back on his feet. "Alright, dinner time. I brought you some of that stew you like."

Link cheered at the prospect of food and took off back to camp as Dark Link stood and brushed himself off. "I never will understand why light dwellers need to eat as often as they do." He commented.

Sheik rolled his eyes. Neither of them needed to eat, so neither could cook. Sheik usually made trips to the light realm to fetch food for Link. "You like to eat as much as he does." He said dryly.

"Well yes, but I don't _have _to." Said Dark Link, rolling his eyes. He shot the Sheikah a wicked grin, "And I prefer to _drink__,_ anyway." Sheik merely arched an eyebrow, unamused.

"So you don't want any stew?"

"I didn't say that!"

* * *

After dinner the three of them rested around the fire as they usually did before Link went to bed. Link lay on his stomach with his nose buried in a book, Dark Link sat polishing his black sword, and Sheik leaned against him, half-asleep. Sleep was, again, something the Dark Realm dweller's didn't usually need unless they exhausted their magic. And, Sheik thought dryly, his magic was nearly always exhausted as he poured every ounce he had into giving Link as much time as possible before Ganondorf broke free.

"Sheik?" Link's voice broke Sheik from his thoughts as sapphire eyes, lightly flecked with purple, stared through him with a contemplative look.

"Yes, Link?" He asked.

Link stood with his book and moved to sit by Sheik, placing the book in Sheik's lap. Their hands brushed for a moment, and Sheik couldn't help but notice the differences between them. Sheik's skin had never lost the tan of his Sheikah guise; when they first brought Link to the Dark Realm, he'd been an outside boy, often hard at work on his uncle's (the very thought of the man made Sheik scowl) farm. His skin had been as sun-kissed as Sheik's appeared to be. But now he was as pale as Dark Link, or any other dweller of the Dark Realm. Sheik had deemed it too dangerous to take him back to Hyrule, and so, Link could not remember ever seeing the sun anywhere but in his books.

It was sad, really.

Link tapped a finger against a drawing of the Triforce, over a page telling one of its legends. "If touched by one with an evil heart, the Triforce will shatter, each piece resting with one who best embodies that piece's qualities; Courage, Wisdom, or Power."

Sheik nodded. "That is the tale passed down by my people, yes. Courage is held by the ancient Hero, Wisdom by the Princess, and Power by the evil that shattered the sacred Relic."

But Link still looked troubled. "But you told me that I hold the Triforce of Courage, right?" Said Link, examining the golden triangle on the back of his hand.

"Course you do." Dark Link grinned at him. "I'm only shadow-bound to the one who does, after all."

Sheik glared. "That is not true and you know it. You're shadow-bound to the _Hero_. There is a difference."

Dark Link waved him off. "Yeah, yeah."

"But. . .how could I be the bravest, when I was only a baby? I can't have done anything brave then, right? What if there were someone braver than me? Would the Triforce of Courage leave me-" Sheik's hand on his stopped him gently.

"Link, that won't happen. The Triforce chose you for a reason. You are the bravest, this I know." Sheik reassured him. "Listen to me, the bravest man is not the one who goes into battle knowing he will win, but the one who knows he may very well lose, and still chooses to fight."

Still, Link seemed troubled. "But how does the Triforce know that?"

Sheik only smiled. "You are the chosen of Farore. She is careful with her choices, Link. Do not doubt her. The Goddesses know what they are doing."

Rather than soothing him, however, Link only looked more downtrodden. "And here I thought I was on to something. . ." He grumbled.

"And what would that be?" Asked Sheik.

"Well, you told me that Ganondorf," he motioned to the swirling cloud of Evil overhead, "is so difficult to keep sealed because he's so powerful. But, does he have the Triforce of Power because he is the most powerful, or does having it make him the most powerful? What if, someday, there were someone more powerful than he is? I know that nobody could be as powerful as a Triforce holder, but what if there were someone without the Triforce more powerful than Ganondorf was when he didn't have it? Would the Triforce leave him, then? If it went to this other person, that person would be more powerful than Ganondorf is now. But if only I can be bravest, then only he can be most powerful, right?"

Dark Link and Sheik glanced at each other. Clearly, this had never occurred to either of them. "Nobody has ever been so powerful on their own, Link, so I'm afraid I do not know the answer." Said Sheik finally. "But remember this; power is something different than Courage or Wisdom. Power can be gained and lost. Courage is part of who you are, and that will never change."

Sheik reached into the lesser shadows, pulling forth the ancient golden lyre he'd had for centuries. He plucked a few strings, moving into a swift and moody, but familiar tune. Link and Dark Link both perked at hearing it, Link swaying to the beat.

"Pum pum pu pu pumpum! Pum pum pu pu pumpum! Come on Shadow, sing!" Link urged.

"Pum pum pu pu-"

"No! The other part!" Link protested.

"I am not singing the high part-" Dark Link responded with crossed arms and a scowl.

"Ah, but Dark Link, your voice is so very lovely." Said Sheik slyly, fingers dancing over the lyre. As expected, Dark Link flushed and stammered.

"I-I am not _lovely!_" He protested. Link cracked up laughing and Dark Link pouted (though he would later deny ever doing so), but in the end the blonds won out, and Dark Link's melodious tenor blended with Sheik's lyre and Link's beat perfectly.

But as they moved from the dramatic if broody Dark World Theme, as Dark Link had once called it, to the brighter Overworld Theme ("I did NOT just hit the high note! You're hearing things!") Sheik couldn't help but feel that something was missing from their music.

And he had a feeling he knew exactly what.

* * *

Haha. Dark Link sings. Any guesses as to what's missing in their music? And what Dark Link will think of it?

So, has that ever occurred to anyone? What if there were a wizard more powerful than Ganondorf?

As always, I love to hear your thoughts (or story ideas. Any little Zelda thing you've been wondering about? I can probably come up with something interesting for it!)

And thank you to the Chapter Five reviewers darkwolflink1 (Threesome? I don't know about that. But we'll see. And if you thought they had relationship issues before, hello Dark Mirror! lol. Link was just shy of seven before this, although Dark Link thought he was younger at first. Now he's almost eight.), Sergeant Dreamer (I haven't played it either. I read the manga. Red and Blue are so fun together! Red is so cute! And yeah, there probably will be a full version eventually, once I figure out exactly how many lemons are going to end up in this thing.), and Kick-Aft (What did Sheik go to do? Hmm...lol. I've dropped a couple hints, but it might be clearer in a chapter or two).

Just so you all know, this story has been completely overtaking any ideas I had for my other fic. I'll get that thing finished eventually, but Dark Link is very demanding when his ideas make themselves known.


	7. The Return of Dark Zelda

Alright, so I finally went back and edited the other chapters. Flashbacks are all in italics. For the most part, unless it's a flashback with running commentary from Dark Link and Sheik, the flashback is not one that takes place during the current story. The Dark Mirror references and the flashbacks in this chapter, for instance, take place during the Four Swords manga. Actually, the two flashback scenes should look somewhat familiar to anyone who has read the manga.

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend of Zelda. I do own a cute little Link Klik candy dispenser. It had OoT's young Link on it, and I was really excited.

* * *

"_Dark Mirror? What's that?" Vio looked over at the lounging Shadow in confusion. _

_Shadow grinned. "Come on, I'll just show you." Nearly skipping, the Shadow took Vio's hand and led him from the celebration hall. Down the stairs they went, to the hidden room that held the mirror. Shadow smirked and giggled to himself, imagining Sheik's face when he saw the pair of them together. _

_Now he'll know what it feels like! Shadow snarled internally. _

_So engrossed in his thoughts was he, Shadow did not at first hear the sounds of the rambunctiously drunk monsters in the mirror room. He rounded the corner of the stairs and gave a startled yelp, a sudden flash of fear shooting through him as he beheld the monsters pawing at the mirror and shoving each other in jest. One of them stumbled and crashed into the mirror, which was only saved because it fell on the other, who roughly pushed it upright._

_They were manhandling the mirror like it was some useless trinket. They were manhandling Sheik! His Sheik! _

"_What are you doing you fools?" He screamed, rushing forward with fists clenched and dark energy swirling around him. He would have shot it at the monsters, but then he would risk hitting the mirror. "Don't mess with it, are you trying to break it? GET OUT!" The monsters ran from his anger, stumbling slightly in their drunkenness. Shadow kicked them both up the stairs (he wanted to kill them, oh how he did! But he had to check on Sheik first, so he satisfied himself by blasting their butts with dark energy), then hurried up to the mirror, placing both hands on it to peer inside. _

_Sheik lifted his head weakly. There was a look of disgust on his face, but Shadow told himself that it was directed at the monsters, not him. Relieved, and calmer now, Shadow turned from it and Sheik faded into the darkness of the mirror. Vio still lingered by the stairs, peering at Shadow curiously. _

"_This is the Dark Mirror. It provides us with unlimited dark power." Shadow announced with a smirk. He beckoned Vio closer, placing an arm around him as he gestured to the mirror. "It's like a dark fountain. As long as we have this mirror, we're invincible!" _

"_. . . I see. . . ." Vio murmured, peering into it. And for a brief moment, he did. A flash of a bloody red eye staring out from under mussed blond hair and bandages, a cowl hanging limply over a well-muscled, but slim chest, obscuring the red eye displayed there. Tan lips mouthing a plea Vio could only just make out. _

_**Help him. **_

* * *

"Happy birthday Vio!" Announced Dark Link with a grin, ruffling Link's hair as he returned from training. Link ducked out from under him, laughing.

"Thank you, Shadow. I'm eight now, right?" He asked, grinning like a fool as Dark Link guided him to their make-shift table. A small cake sat in the center, chocolate with neat violet lettering reading _Happy Birthday Link _(_Vio_ was etched sloppily underneath. Dark Link had been adding it to the cake when Sheik caught him and smacked his hand away for sticking his finger in the frosting).

Sheik smiled, though only the crinkle around his eyes suggested it. "Yes, you're eight." It was troubling that Link still did not remember, but Sheik supposed it was probably for the best.

"Practically grown up!" Put in Dark Link proudly, ignoring Sheik's eye roll. "Do you want cake or presents first?"

Link cast a look at Sheik, then grinned at Dark Link. "Presents please. You'll start bouncing off the walls once you've had cake, Shadow."

"I will not!" Dark Link protested, affronted.

"Will too." Came two deadpan voices. Dark Link pouted, muttering something about conspiracies and Sheikah-mimicking little menaces as he fetched his large purple-wrapped gift from where he'd hidden it behind a log.

Vio thanked him politely as ever as he took the gift and peeled back the paper. A gasp, then a gleeful shout as he held his present high. "A bow and arrows! Thank you, Shadow!" Vio threw his arms around his darkness, clutching his new bow tightly.

Dark Link laughed and lifted him, squeezing him just as hard before setting him down. "All right, all right, let's see what Sheik has for you."

Sheik's package was much smaller, wrapped in plain brown paper from Hyrule's Castle Town market. "Happy Birthday, Link. Use it well." Link pulled the twine to open the package, lifting the small instrument from its leather pouch carefully, as though afraid it would break.

"An ocarina. Thank you Sheik." He hugged the Sheikah too, with a bit more reserve than he had his shadow. It really was a thing of beauty; made with twelve holes for a better range, sweet potato-shaped fired clay painted a light shade of purple. If one looked closely, the Sheikah eye could be seen inscribed in red near the top.

Dark Link's eye twitched and he scowled over Link's head. Sheik chose not to acknowledge him as he led Link towards the cake. "Eat, and then I'll teach you to play."

With Link suitably distracted, Dark Link cornered Sheik out of the boy's sight, fist slamming angrily into the rock by his head. Furious, he hissed, "An ocarina? You enchanted it, didn't you?"

Sheik didn't so much as flinch, giving Dark Link a baleful stare as he ducked under his arm. "Contrary to what you may believe, Dark Link, not everything I do is designed to turn him into the Hero of Time. Yes, I gave him an ocarina. You will recall that the Hero often plays one. I feel he will need it soon."

Dark Link let out an irritated growl. "That's not why I'm angry, Sheik! You don't have the power to spare for something like that! I know you've been strengthening the barrier again! You're stretching yourself too thin!" The anger in his voice dissolved into worry as he pulled Sheik into his arms, holding him close. "What if you get hurt? I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

Sheik's eyes reflected a sadness deeper than Dark Link could know as he gently returned the embrace. He wanted to reassure the shadow, but he knew that anything he said would be a lie. "Princess Zelda and Lady Impa assisted me. Do not worry." His eyes slipped closed for a moment as he relaxed in Dark Link's hold. "I assure you, the enchantments were necessary. Many of the old warp paths still work, and I suspect that he will need to know how to use them soon."

Dark Link tilted Sheik's face towards his, leaning in close. Sheik's eyes slid shut as their lips pressed together, gently at first, then more desperately. "I love you, Dark Link. Whatever happens, do not forget that."

"Never. I love you too." Murmured Dark Link, pressing his forehead to Sheik's for a moment before the slightly shrill notes of one unused to an ocarina split the air. "Ow! Alright! Alright we're coming!" With one last chaste kiss, the pair returned to the camp.

* * *

"_I don't know what he sees in a little twit you, I honestly don't." Dark Link glared at the princess standing fearlessly at the edge of the Tower of Winds. _

_Zelda stared back at him, unafraid. "Link has been my friend since we were children-" _

"_Not him, salope!" Dark Link spat angrily, "Sheik!" _

_A startled look crossed Zelda's face. "S-Sheik? How, but, not even Link knows about him!" _

_Dark Link laughed coldly, stalking up to her. He leaned close, finger in her face. "Let's get one thing straight, right now. Sheik is mine. He was mine before you were born, and he will be mine after you die." _

_Zelda scowled and her eyes narrowed. She smacked Dark Link's hand away angrily. "Sheik is not a possession! I don't own him, even if he is my shadow. What do you even know about him? You. . ." Sudden understanding crossed her face, "You! You're the reason he won't answer when I call for him! You've done something to him, haven't you? You better not have hurt him!" _

_Dark Link snarled, shadows flaring around him. "Shows what you know, you little idiot. He's not even your real shadow! You wouldn't like your true shadow." He hissed. _

* * *

"Very good Link. There's just one more song I want to teach you tonight. This is the melody that will draw you into the infinite darkness that absorbs even time. Listen to this, the Nocturne of Shadow." Sheik lifted his lyre and closed his eyes, the haunting melody surrounding them. Obediently, Link lifted his purple ocarina to his lips and played, Dark Link humming a soft harmony in the background.

"It a very sad song, isn't it?" Link whispered as the echoes died away, feeling as though if he spoke too loudly he would break its spell.

"Yes." Answered Sheik, lowering his lyre. "It was written long ago, to embody the very spirit of the Shadow Temple, the final resting place of the Sheikah."

"The Shadow Temple?" Link's head tilted to the side as he regarded Sheik curiously.

"Yes. It is a gateway of sorts, between the realms of light and shadow. Most who dwell in the light won't go near it." He smiled, placing a hand on Link's shoulder. "But you've grown up here amongst the shadows. They obey you now. I think you would be fine within it. You're a brave boy."

Link smiled back at Sheik, pleased by the praise. The firelight threw Sheik's shadow onto the rock behind him, and as he watched it, something occurred to Link. Sheik's shadow looked. . . off, somehow, and not just because Link, sitting beside him, never cast one.

"Sheik?" Link asked curiously, "Why do you have a shadow when Shadow and I don't?"

Sheik's bloody gaze drifted to his own shadow, too dark, too humanoid, curved where it shouldn't be. . .

"You do have a shadow, Link. You don't cast one because he's sitting right there." Sheik nodded towards Dark Link. Link blinked at Dark Link, his head tilted to the side. Dark Link grinned at him over his cake and shifted, taking on Link's appearance and imitating him. Sheik rolled his eyes. Link waved and Dark Link did too. Link stuck out his arm and so did Dark Link.

"Link is the smartest boy ever." Said Link.

"Link is the smartest boy ever." Dark Link copied. Link looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Dark Link is a smelly Moblin."

"Dark Link is a-HEY!" Yelped Dark Link. Link laughed and Dark Link changed back to normal, pouting. Antics like these were precisely the reason Sheik limited his sugar intake. . .

Sheik smiled at the pair, shaking his head before he turned serious again. He motioned towards the shadow he cast on the rock. "Most beings don't cast shadows in this world. I'm sure you've noticed that the monsters don't either." Link nodded, and Sheik continued. "My shadow. . . is unusual. Think of it as an indicator of sorts. If it becomes too dark, too solid, it's very dangerous." Sheik turned his bloody eyes to Link, and his expression left no room for jokes. "If you see my shadow becoming too solid, get to Dark Link and get away from me as fast as you can. Do you understand?" This, Sheik thought guiltily, was something he should have explained to the boy weeks ago. The shadow was far darker than was safe. The magic binding _her_ was growing very weak.

Link stared at him, wide-eyed and with a shiver of fear. "Yes, Sheik, I understand." He didn't quite understand, but Sheik would never lie and this was the Dark World, the realm where monsters lived. If Sheik was telling him this, then Link knew that it must be so.

"Very well. It's getting late, so I believe that you shoul-" Sheik cut off abruptly, his eyes shooting wide open in horror. He leapt to his feet, gazing towards the swirling clouds at the center of the Dark Realm. "No. . .NO! Dark Link, the barrier!" A flash and he was gone, Dark Link reacting too slowly to catch him.

"Sheik, wait! Dammit! Come on Link!" Dark Link gave Link barely a moment to direct the shadows to gather his things before Dark Link seized his hand, the pair of them running from the safety of the camp and across the dead, dry fields of the Dark World.

"What just happened?" Link called as they ran.

"I don't know, but I don't like it!" Dark Link answered as he cut down a Moblin in their path. A scream from up ahead spurred them on, and in minutes that felt like hours they had reached the malevolent cloud that swirled under a flickering golden barrier. Black lightning shot along the surface, attacking it.

Another cry of pain tore from Sheik's lips as they reached him. He had his hands clasped in front of him, chants and spells pouring from his lips as his body crackled with power. Link reached for him, and Dark Link pulled him back.

"No! We can't touch him. We can't handle that level of power! It will destroy us. . ." Dark Link's voice broke as he stared longingly at Sheik, and Link knew that he wanted nothing more than to run to his suffering love.

"Dark. . . Dark Link! There's-There's another wizard in Hyrule! He's trying to break the barrier!" Sheik shouted as he gave another push of power he didn't have. "Dark Link, you have to go! I- I can't-"

The barrier cracked. A ray of darkness deeper than the blackest Dark World night flew from the breach to surround Sheik, forcing him to his knees. Dark Link and Sheik screamed together, Link struck mute as his eyes widened in horror. Sheik's shadow cast beyond the column of darkness, stretching, shifting until it took the shape of a Hylian woman.

Ruby red eyes in the shadow's head snapped open, regarding the spectators with cold amusement. The shadow peeled itself from the ground, and dove into the column of darkness. Sheik's scream turned high-pitched before cutting off abruptly.

"NO!" Link tore from his shadow's grasp, flinging himself at the column with his blade held high. Dark energy blasted him back, sending him flying into Dark Link, knocking both to the ground.

The column began to die down as an insane giggle rang out. When the darkness cleared, Sheik was gone. In his place stood a young woman with Dark World pale skin, raven-black hair, and cold ruby eyes sparkling with insanity. Her elegant floor-length dress was black, trimmed with silver. Dark Link stood frozen, staring at her with wide, terrified eyes.

"Hello Darkling." She crooned. After so many centuries, Dark Zelda was back.

And worst of all, she didn't cast a shadow.

* * *

Uh-oh. She's back.

Thank you to the Chapter Six reviewers Darkwolflink1 (Don't worry, the Dark Mirror is only in the Four Swords flashbacks. I'm using it to establish background, basically. Yay cookie! *noms*), Kick-Aft (Your guess was correct, but I can't clarify because that's a plot point in a couple chapters. Enjoy!), and Sergeant Dreamer (The ocarina was missing. That's one reason why Sheik gave him one. I really liked the idea of Dark Link singing, so I put it in. ^_^).


	8. As He Was Meant To

Just to warn you all, Link gets hurt again in this chapter, and Dark Link is an emotional wreck. I'm really sorry! You guys must think I'm a terrible person.

Chapter Eight

* * *

Horror. Deep, creeping fear and terror that froze his insides and made him want to drop to his knees and beg for her forgiveness. He hated her, oh how he did, but still she held so much power over him. She always had, she always would.

Dark Link did not remember much about that Time Before the Room. He did, however, remember when he'd first became sentient, more than a crawling lesser shadow. There was a crooning voice calling to him, small, rough hands guiding him, cold lips pressing to his. . .

He'd hated it, before he'd even known what hate was. Hated her, but loved her, loved her still. Loved her as much as he'd hated her. He wanted to run to her, wanted to run from her. He'd preferred the Room of Illusions to her presence, but each moment locked within it had been pure torment, keeping him from her.

For centuries, Sheik had protected him. Sheik had given him all that he loved about her, but kept locked away all that he'd feared and hated. He'd loved Sheik more than he could ever say. But Sheik was gone now, and Dark Link had a feeling his Sheikah-Who-Was-Not-a-Sheikah had known the time was coming. He was gone for good this time, and Dark Link wanted to mourn his loss.

But there was no time.

Whatever he wanted, he needed Vio safe first.

"Run!" Seizing the child's arm Dark Link took off at a sprint away from the flickering barrier and the dark cloud beneath it. Dark Zelda's mad, cackling laughter rang out after them as they ran, zigzagging across the Dark World's plain to avoid the hot balls of black energy she fired at them. One blast struck a twisted little tree struggling to grow in the Dark World's bare soil. The tree went up in flames, the dim light casting dancing shadows on the ground around them. Anyone looking on might be puzzled, for neither the boy, the man, nor the woman cast a shadow of their own on the rocky ground.

"Run, run wherever you may my little Darkling, but I will catch you, and you won't like it when I do!" Her shrill, taunting voice called. A shiver ran down Dark Link's spine, and his grip on his Vio's wrist tightened. He darted to the left, scooping up Link before making a jump up onto a crumbling ledge. He didn't linger, sprinting into the veritable maze of stone leading up to one of the old temples, hoping to lose her in its twisting, winding passages.

They ran through the apparently abandoned crumbling walls of stone, nary a monster in sight. Dark Link suspected they were all hiding from the terror that chased them through the maze. Right, forward, right, forward, forward, left, forward, DUCK! Dark Link dove behind a suit of armor, pulling Link close and tugging the shadows around them to hide their presence.

"Come out, come out Darkling dearest! Your precious Sheikah won't save you now! He's gone! Gone gone gone, good-bye Sheikah, nasty pest!" She sang, laughing as her voice grew fainter. She had passed their hiding place without a second look and moved on, taking the next left up ahead.

Dark Link's fists clenched, and he leaned back against the armor, closing his eyes. She was right, and he knew it, but still. . .

The statue they hid behind shook and gave a great bellow, flashing from charcoal gray to a fiery red. It looked about in confusion for the one who had woken it, stepping forward out of the alcove with loud, clanking steps of rusted metal on crumbling stone. Dark Link swore and it turned slowly, swinging its great ax with surprising speed towards their heads.

"What is that thing?" Link yelped as they dodged and rolled around the suited monstrosity, which clanked after them when they attempted to run from it.

"A Dark Nut! I thought those bloody bastards died out!" Cried Dark Link as they darted around a corner- and straight into a dead end. "_Merde!_" They turned to run back, but the Dark Nut rounded the corner, boxing them in. Dark Link looked up, judging the distance to the top of the rocky wall rising above their heads. Twenty feet, maybe thirty. He could make the jump alone (Sheik, he thought with a pang, could have easily made the jump with both of them, if he'd had to), but he would never be able to jump that high carrying Link, and with access to only a fraction of his full power-

"Darkling, I've found you!" Shrieked a voice from above. Dark Zelda floated high above them, a large, dark blast powering up in her hand. Dark Link froze.

Link's hand found Dark Link's once again. "Shadow," he whispered. "I'm scared." He looked up into his shadow's face, but Dark Link stood stock-still, his eyes fixed unseeingly on Dark Zelda, cackling in the air above them. The Dark Nut continued to advance.

"Darkling, Darkling, darling little Darkling. Give me the boy and let me kill him for you. Just give me the boy my Darkling, and we'll be together forever. You'd like that, wouldn't you my Darkling?" Dark Zelda purred, subtly adding more and more power to the ball of energy she held.

The pair of them cornered, and his shadow frozen, Link knew he had to act. If one looked closely, they would see his sky-blue eyes blink, and open flecked with purple. Drawing his wooden practice sword and shield from the shadows he gave a great yell, propelling himself towards the Dark Nut and (in a move that would have made Dark Link proud had he been paying attention) landed nimbly on the flat of its ax, kicking its helmet off and temporarily confusing and angering it. Dark Zelda whirled at the bellow the creature made, snapping Dark Link from his trance.

The Dark Nut swung its great ax and Link leapt from it, sword drawn as his small form sailed towards Dark Zelda. She gave a cry of rage and shot her black blast, hitting him head-on with a ball of energy nearly as large as him. Dark Link's shout of panic mingled with Link's cry of pain and Dark Zelda's mad laughter in a terrible cacophony as the force of the blast shattered the wooden weapons and knocked Link back, the boy seeming to fall in slow motion towards the Dark Nut's razor-sharp blade.

Dark Link ran and jumped, catching Link in his arms as he somersaulted through the air past the ax, barely feeling the pain as it sliced through his shoulder. He ran once more, cradling the semi-conscious Link in his arms. With each turn he took another Dark Nut, no doubt awakened by the bellows of the first, spotted him and ambled after him, all of them seeming to herd him down one particular path.

Soon enough he realized why. Looking back at the dozen or so Dark Nuts chasing them, Dark Link did not see the odd-looking tile until he stepped on it, triggering a cage of bright energy to spring up around them, a trap set by an ancient Sage. Dark Link cried out in pain, falling to his knees and dropping Link when he flung up his arms to protect himself from the light.

"There's nowhere to run, my Darkling." She murmured just softly enough to be heard, while staying just beyond the light cage's reach, "Just give me the boy." The Dark Nuts surrounded the cage, axes raised to chop them to bits at her command.

Dark Link's body trembled under the harsh light, little wisps of smokey shadow floating from his body, which had started to lose its distinctness. There was no where else to run, and no one to come save them. Little Vio too needed help; his breathing was shallow, uneven. They had to get out. Out of the cage, out of her reach, out of the Realm of Darkness. Nowhere in the Dark World was safe for them now.

If only he could get Vio to safety, then he supposed he wouldn't mind so much if the light destroyed him. Maybe then he could see Sheik. See his Sheikah-Who-Was-Not-a-Sheikah, see him laugh, see him smile, maybe he would even be able to see him in the sunlight, with mists sparkling around him, cloaking him and revealing him again, a heaven to the the Room of Illusions' hell. . .

That's it!

Reaching deep inside his mind, Dark Link felt for the place that used to hold his memories of the Time Before the Room. That place had been invaded by the mists of the Room, and when he'd left they'd gone with him. Every now and then they tried to pull him back, and Dark Link always fought to stay away, but now he called to them, begged them to take him, and his young charge.

His head tossed back, the white mists flowing from his mouth, nose, eyes and ears, surrounding him and Link. Distantly, he heard Dark Zelda give an angry shout, heard the swinging of a dozen deadly blades. He saw white, and then nothing.

* * *

"Shadow?. . .Shadow, wake up? Please? Shadow, where are we?" A gentle nudge against his shoulder pulled him from his sleep. Dark Link shifted, feeling sand beneath his cheek. He flung out an arm in a half-hearted attempt to shoo whoever was trying to wake him, and his hand splashed into the water. Figuring he'd fallen asleep near the stream, and really having no intentions of waking, he turned away from the water and curled up. He vaguely heard a sigh, but dismissed it-

"GAH- WHAT?" -only to jerk awake a moment later when Link dumped a hat-full of water on his head. Link, eyes pure blue once more, laughed.

"It's about time you woke up Shadow, you've been sleeping for ages!" He said, grinning still as Dark Link glared, sweeping wet locks from his face. Then the boy's expression sobered. "Do you know where we are?"

Oh. Now he remembered. Sheik. Dark Zelda. The maze. The cage. The Room.

"This," Dark Link began tiredly, "is the Room of Illusions, the Room of Mists, Hell, whatever you want to call it. This is the only place in the Light World I can travel to without Sheik's help." He ran a hand over his face and heaved a breathless sigh. "Problem is, once I'm here, I can't get out. I'm sorry Vio, it was the only thing I could think of to get us away from Dark Zelda."

Link shifted, wincing as he did so, to sit beside Dark Link. "Will you tell me about her? Where did Sheik go? Did she hurt him?"

Dark Link shifted closer to Link, lifting his tunic to inspect his injuries. Bruises spread across one side of his face, his torso and arms. His hands, which had been holding his wooden sword and shield when he'd been hit, were riddled with splinters. He looked like he'd taken quite a beating, Dark Link thought ruefully. Link's body trembled slightly, an after-effect of being hit with that much energy at once.

"I don't want to talk about it right now, Vio. Sheik is gone, Dark Zelda is back and out to kill you. That's all there is to it." He reached for the shadows to attempt to guide them to help heal Link, but they hated the Room as much as he did, and refused to come. Dark Link sighed, carefully picking the splinters from his light's hand on his own, his heart breaking a little every time Link cringed. His eyes closed, warding off the tears that so badly wanted to fall. Standing, he moved away to inspect the doors.

"Shadow, you're hurt!" Link cried, pointing to the wound on his shoulder. The fabric of his tunic was torn, and shadows seeped from the wound, dissipating in the harsh brightness of the room.

Dark Link twisted his neck to look, and shrugged it off. "It'll heal." He said shortly, striding to one of the doors. Locked. Turning quickly, trying not to run, Dark Link strode towards the other door. As he feared, this one too, was locked. Panic rose in his chest, and Dark Link tried to force it down. His head hit the metal bars of the door with a dull thud, the tears he'd tried to repress leaking from his eyes.

A small hand laid itself gently on his arm, pulling him down. Dark Link knelt in the ankle-deep water without protest, allowing Link to wipe his face on his light purple sleeve. Dark Link wrapped his arms around Link, mindful of his bruises. Eyes closed, he felt his light's steady heartbeat, the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest, contrasted against the silence of Dark Link's own silent form.

He stood, water dripping from his tunic and running down his leggings, and lifted Link into his arms, carrying him back to the dry sand of the island. He sat the boy down and lay on his back beside him, trying to think of a way to get out of the room.

He felt the ancient spell stir a moment too late. Link had leaned against the tree, settling the unbruised part of his back against its trunk. The tree, Dark Link belatedly realized, was the key to the spell laid by Ganondorf centuries earlier, the spell designed to turn him against the Hero of Time.

Against his will Dark Link rose, hand reaching for the sword on his back. Shadows rose up around him, attempting to activate the age-old defense mechanism which would give him the same form as Link. The spell warred with the defense, a fight of shadows and darkness that lasted for only a moment before both settled, having stripped Dark Link of his shadowy weapons, but left his adult form intact.

Dark Link struggled, his eyes flashing as he fought to regain control of his body. "Vio, Vio- please, I can't stop it!"

Link's head shot up and his eyes widened, taking in the sight of his darkness standing over him in a fighting stance, swordless, but with the cold eyes of a killer. Eyes he'd seen before. . .

"Shadow?" Link whispered. The eyes flickered, panic and fear showing clearly, before they became dead again. Dark Link stalked forward, fist swinging back and striking out with the force of the Megaton Hammer.

"Hya!" His voice, normally a lovely countertenor (not that he'd ever admit it), was garbled, distorted and deepened by the power of the spell.

Link dove to the side to avoid the blow, landing belly-first in the water with a whimper of pain. He rolled to avoid a kick, staring up at his shadow. "Shadow, please! You have to break the spell! Snap out of it, please!"

A hand grabbed him by the throat, lifting him clear off his feet. Link gasped and struggled, kicking his feet and clawing futility at Dark Link's iron grip.

* * *

"_The Room of Illusions" Sheik began slowly, "or the Realm of Mists if you so prefer, was once just another ordinary room in the Water Temple. Before Ganon came, there was nothing special about it. But he, before he summoned you, made it your prison." Sheik was reluctant to tell the tale, though only those who knew him best could see it. _

_Dark fought the urge to cover his ears. He didn't care what the room had been. Centuries had passed since his release, and if he ever saw it again, it would be too soon. _

"_There is a spell on the room, as I'm sure you guessed. I saw it when I came to fetch you, though it was so interwoven with the illusion that I could not be certain of its trigger. It did not look like any of the Water Temple's own defenses, however, it didn't look like Ganon's usual work, either." Sheik knew Dark didn't want to know, but something told him Dark would need this knowledge soon. He could feel it. _

"_What do you mean?" Asked Dark, his curiosity getting the better of him. "It had to be one or the other, didn't it?" _

"_When I say his usual work," Sheik amended, "I mean that he did not cast it alone. I. . ." Here Sheik trailed off, his gaze wandering to the horizon, to the ominous darkness looming there. "I believe that Dark Zelda helped him. No, I _know_ she did." Sheik's bloody eyes met Dark's surprised ruby. _

"_The spell, as I saw it, was designed to turn a person's reflection against him. In other words, had you ever met the Hero in that room, you would have been forced to fight him, whether you wanted to or not." Sheik's heart ached as he saw the pained look cross Dark's face. He knew what the shadow was thinking, knew that over the years he had come to abhor the idea of harming his light. "It will force you to, how shall I put this? Conquer yourself." _

"_What did _she_ contribute to it?" Asked Dark, voice tight. _

"_She gave her shadows to Ganondorf, to allow him to devise a way to contain and control you." Here, Sheik paused. "She also gave it its one weakness, the one way you could escape from it without either of you having to kill the other." _

_Dark moved to stand by one of the rocks in Sheik's little protective circle, his back to the Sheikah. "And what way is that?" _

_Silent as a breath Sheik slipped up behind him, wrapping his arms around Dark's waist and laying his head on Dark's shoulder. "You can conquer yourself in more ways than one. Instead of fighting him, accept him. Love him as you were meant to." _

* * *

Link's struggles were slowing. His kicking stopped, and his hands fell limp at his sides. Blue eyes, flecked with violet once more, stared pleadingly into frozen ruby.

A blink. A flicker. Dark Link thought of those blue eyes shining up at him with happiness. He thought of the first Vio, the one he would have given up almost anything for. The one who had befriended him him, betrayed him, loved him, and later called him his most precious friend. He thought of this Vio, this little Link, smiling at him, holding his hand, singing with him, training with him. He thought of holding him just minutes prior, cradling him close and listening to the beat of his living heart.

He did love this little Vio. Not in quite the way he loved Sheik, but as a friend, as a little brother. . .as. . . .as he was meant to. They were all his little brothers, really, all those personalities that Link took in his various lives, but Vio was, and would always be, his special favorite. Vio was the one willing to reach out to the shadows when none of the others would. Vio was the one who called out to him when he needed him most. Vio _trusted_ him. And he. . .he could not let himself destroy that.

Slowly, ever so slowly Dark Link forced his hand to open. The spell began to crack, then break, the poisonous mists finally forever cleared from his mind. Link dropped to the floor with a splash, where he lay, unmoving.

Around them, the illusion began to fade. The mists dissipated, revealing the blue tiled walls of the Water Temple, though these looked ancient and worn. The twisted, dead tree and the island both vanished as if they had never been, leaving only the ankle-deep water on the cracked and faded blue flooring.

Dark Link dropped to his knees beside Link, lifting his limp head from the water and laying it in his lap. An ugly red mark around his neck promised a hideous bruise in the shape of his hand; Dark Link shuddered with revulsion at the sight of it. Nervous, hardly daring to hope, he lowered his head close to Link's, listening intently.

His breathing was raspy, but it was there. Dark Link nearly cried with relief. He shifted, lifting Link from the water and into his arms, though it hardly helped since their tunics were both soaked through.

"Vio, please, I'm so sorry. Open your eyes. Please?" Dark Link whispered pleadingly, brushing Link's hair back and adjusting his little purple cap. Link groaned and coughed, his eyes cracking open.

"Water, please?" He croaked. Dark Link nodded, tears in his eyes as he shifted, cupping water in his palm and lifting it for Link to drink.

"I'm sorry, Vio, I'm sorry. I couldn't fight it. I tried; I tried so hard." The tears fell as Dark Link, trembling, pulled Link close. Link's small hand pressed over his mouth.

"I felt the magic, Shadow. You couldn't help it, I know." His voice was hoarse, but his eyes shown with understanding. Dark Link gave him a wane smile.

"Let's get out of here, hm?" Dark Link stood, cradling the bruised Link gently against him. As he'd suspected, the bars had lifted from the doors with the dissolution of the spell on the room. Taking a calming breath, Dark Link stepped through the one closest to them.

The air was staler here than in the previous room, as though it had never been disturbed. Although Dark Link could see clearly through the gloom, he did not recognize the room; he supposed he must have first entered from the other door. Before them was a wooden chest in a much more pristine condition than the ancient, crumbling walls. Opening it, Dark Link found what he recognized from Sheik's descriptions as the Longshot. The lesser shadows took it for him, and he walked around the room, though he saw no exit.

"Bugger." Dark Link ignored Link's dry chuckle as they left that room and re-entered the former Room of Illusions. Crossing the space in a few quick strides- it really was a smaller room than he had once thought- Dark Link headed towards the other door. Finding the exit ought to be easy from there. . .

"Bloody fucking HELL!"

What should have been the exit was, instead, solid rock.

". . ._She didn't think it wise to leave you here in the temple with the reconstructions imminent._ . ."

"_VAFFANCULO! FODA-SE! FICK! FAKAT! CASSE-TOI! MA TEEGY ANEEKIK!_ FUCK! Damn damn damn!" Dark Link heaved after his slew of swears, his already-unstable emotions not equipped to deal with having escaped the room through such traumatic means, only to find himself and little Link- who was _hurt,_ damnit- still trapped.

Link was staring at him with wide eyes (Sheik had put his foot down rather firmly on the swearing issue. No swearing in front of Link. It taught him bad habits. Therefore, Link really had no idea his shadow could swear so colorfully.).

Dark Link sat Link down on the stone beneath them gently and turned to the wall blocking their way. Frustrated, he punched it. Hard. There was a sound like a clap of thunder, and spider-web cracks began to spread out from where his fist connected with the wall.

Dark Link blinked in surprise as he lowered his fist and a section of the false wall crumbled, the sounds of rushing water and a dim light shining through the small hole. Encouraged, Dark Link continued to pull away sections of the softer stone until he had created a hole large enough for a small child to crawl through. Shifting shape, he stuck his smaller head out, spotting a narrow, rocky ledge a few feet below, and a hundred feet below that, a dangerously fast stream riddled with rapids. Craning his neck upwards, he could just make out a bridge of sorts spanning the gap. None of it looked familiar.

"Shadow?" Link's head hung from the hole, his bruised face peering down at the stream with no small amount of trepidation.

"I've got you." Dark Link helped him down, keeping a grip on his hand as he stared up at the bridge.

"What are you thinking?" Asked Link after a moment. Dark Link hummed in thought, then grinned. He held out his hand, and the shadows placed the Longshot within it.

"Hold on tight." He warned, wrapping his arm more securely around Link. Link did, holding tight to Dark Link's neck as he lifted the Longshot and fired, the hook catching on to a section of the bridge. He gave an experimental tug and hit a button on the side, the chain suddenly yanking them into the air.

Both gave a startled yell of surprise as they flew upwards towards the bridge. The Longshot automatically released from the wooden bridge support when they reached the end of the chain. The pair yelped, Link clinging harder to Dark Link as he grabbed for the beautiful metallic designs along the sides. The sharp ends sliced and cut into his hands as they slipped on the slick metal, unable to find a grip. He grabbed for a wrought-metal spear, only just managing to grab it one-handed. Dangling precariously, he wrapped his free arm around Link, making sure he wouldn't fall before carefully climbing back up to the bridge.

"Bloody stupid Zora." Dark Link growled, flopping onto his back as his gave his hands time to heal.

"Zora?" Asked Link, brow furrowing in confusion. He had read about the Zora in his books, but to his knowledge he'd never met one. "Where are we now?"

Dark Link looked away from his examination of the other bridges above their heads. "We're in what was once called the Water Temple, at the bottom of Lake Hylia." Standing, Dark Link helped Link stand.

Picking a direction, they headed away from the heart of the temple, towards what Dark Link thought might be the exit.

* * *

Poor Link. I'm so cruel to him.

Was anyone else intrigued by the design of the Lakebed Temple? I swear I must have spent about twenty minutes just trying to stare off the bridges and down at the rapid water you never actually got to swim in. Hey, it's in the same location as the Water Temple, so I figured, why not?

Thank you to the Chapter Seven Reviewers Darkwolflink1 (The third line of your review: what? I have no idea what you typed. O.o. Ah yes, Dark Link high on sugar. I had to have some happiness in the last chapter since this one has a lot of Dark Link having issues and Link getting hurt.), and Kick-Aft (Thanks, I'm glad you came back. I hope this chapter had the same effect! And we still get some Sheik in flashbacks, at least. Ah Sheik, the voice of wisdom.).


	9. Bloody Stupid Bloody Zora!

Chapter Nine

* * *

"Bloody stupid bloody Zora and their bloody fucking WATER TEMPLE!" Dark Link screamed in frustration, kicking at (yet another) locked door.

The path he'd chosen had led them into a cavernous room with rotating platforms and a very, very long fall to the bottom. Dark Link half-suspected from the sheer size of it that it was created from the bulk of the old Water Temple, but the bloody place was so confusing he could have been wrong (he likely was, he soon realized). Link looked around in awe; it really was a feat of engineering, and he examined the markings left on the walls with interest.

Architecture, however, was the last thing on Dark Link's mind. Having left Link near the door they'd entered ("Stop arguing with me, you need to _rest_."), he'd made his way across the room to its various doors with the aid of the Longshot, only to find them all barred or locked. With a sigh he lay on his stomach to look beneath the platforms, searching for another door.

"Shadow, over here!" Dark Link followed Link's pointing finger; one of the columns was covered with vines. By climbing down it, they could reach a lower platform, and make their way to one of the doors from there. Without waiting, Link started his descent.

"Vio! Vio, for the love of the goddesses, what if you fall?" Dark Link sprinted across the platforms, jogging in place to keep his position as he watched his little light descend. Only once Link waved at him from the relative safety of the platform did Dark Link drop down.

"I told you to stay put!" He scolded angrily.

"But look," Link held up one of the vines for his inspection. "See how some of the vines have broken leaves or are a bit damaged? I didn't do that. This has to be the right way. Shadow, you can use the Longshot to get to the other platform and jump to the ledge with the door from there." He said, pointing out the way. Seeing he was right (as usual) Dark Link huffed, securing Link to him before making his way to the door (unlocked this time) and stepping through it. They crossed the stream again, by a different bridge this time, and entered the large central room.

"Bloody fucking-why is is so bright in here!" Dark Link yelled, rubbing his eyes rapidly as they entered a large, too-well-lit room. Link cleared the spots from his eyes first, and let out gasp of awe. The room was even larger than the one they'd just left; it was circular, and several stories tall. Much of the bright light came from a grand crystal chandelier hung from the high ceiling, reflected back by the shining golden gilding of the room. Off to their right stood a large white-marble staircase, leading to an upper level.

While Dark Link glared at the chandelier (and as a result had to duck back into the shadows and rub his eyes for several minutes), Link thought. Looking closer, Link noticed that the staircase seemed to be on a sort of pivot. There were handles hanging high above open spaces near some edges of the walkways that suggested to Link the stairs could be moved if one could pull the handle.

It seemed to him that if there were anyone else in the temple, they would have heard them by now. If nobody was inside of it, and monsters weren't in control of it (they hadn't come across any, at least), then it must have been left in such a way that if they could follow the path of the last person to pass through, they could easily exit the temple. So if they followed the stairs. . .

Link tugged an unresisting Dark Link to the door at the bottom of the stairs, but that one was locked. Undeterred, he led the way up the staircase, the many steps worn smooth as though by rushing water. The door at the top was, as Link expected, unlocked, and the room inside much dimmer.

"That's better." Breathed Dark link with a sigh of relief, blinking the last of the spots from his eyes. "Now where are we?- oh, seriously?" The gate before them was closed. Hoisting Link onto his back, Dark Link scrambled over it, finding them in a natural-looking cave-like room with no other door in sight.

Link dropped from his back to explore the cave. There were a few pots about, all empty like the others in the temple. The pair climbed down to the lower area, splashing through the shallow water to the other side. The only apparent exit was a large hole in the floor of the room, filled with water.

"Stay here." Said Dark Link, "I'll go check it out."

Link nodded, eyeing the hole uneasily. He heard a splash, and watched as Dark Link dove out of sight. It seemed to him like hours passed before his shadow surfaced again, looking glum.

"It's the exit all right." He said, "It leads out to Lake Hylia, but it's a long route. We should leave soon though, so we can get out while it's still dark and find shelter before the sun rises. HEY!" He smacked his forehead and leaped from the water, excited. "I have an idea. Sheik taught you the warp songs, right?"

Link's brow furrowed. "Warp songs?" Dark Link felt his eye twitch. Hadn't Sheik explained what the songs were when he'd taught them? Well, Dark Link thought with a pang, Sheik hadn't exactly had much time, had he?

Shaking himself from his thoughts he prompted, "Play the Serenade of Water and think about the surface of the lake. You've seen pictures, right?"

Thinking that Dark Link had lost his mind, Link called his ocarina forth from the shadows. Lifting it to his lips, he played, Dark Link singing along with him. Dark Link's lovely voice and the notes of little Link's Sheikah-crafted ocarina danced and intertwined, echoing beautifully off the walls and creating a sweet symphony of sound. Their bodies dissolved in blue sparkles, drifting away towards the ceiling. . .

Only to crash into a barrier and land on their butts, violently rejected by the magic of the temple.

"Bloody stupid bloody Zora and their BLOODY FUCKING WATER TEMPLE!" Dark Link screamed what was quickly becoming something of a catchphrase. "Since when do the protections of a temple reject the blasted warp songs? MERDE!" He slammed a fist into a nearby rock, cracking it.

"Shadow?" Called Link, "a little help here?" He'd landed awkwardly in a pot, and was thus stuck bent over almost double inside of it with his little legs straight up in the air. Dark Link blinked, a grin fighting its way through his anger. He snickered, pulling little Link out of the pot and setting him on his feet.

"Ha ha. Laugh it up. Laugh it up." The disgruntled child grumbled.

Dark Link snickered for another minute, then sobered. "There's no other way out, Link." He said softly.

Link gulped, and nodded slowly. "I. . .I trust you, Shadow." He reached up rub his neck, wincing when his hand came in contact with the bruise Dark Link had left there. Dark Link cringed, averting his eyes.

_I'm not entirely certain you should, Vio._ Dark thought as he lifted Link once more, securing him against his chest. "You'll have to hold on tightly Link, I'll need my hands to swim." He warned. Link nodded, eyes tightly shut as he clung to Dark Link's neck, his legs wrapping around the other's waist.

"A big breath, and we dive on three." Link nodded, taking large, nervous gulps of air as Dark Link counted. "One, two, THREE!"

They dove.

The water around them was colder than in the rest of the temple. The shock of it almost made Link let go and exhale, but he resisted the urge, his grip tightening impossibly. Dark Link swam like a fish, dodging the jellyfish and large clams in the passage with ease. The darkness of the tunnel posed no problem for him, and he avoided the large patches of seaweed that would catch and hold a lesser man until he drowned.

Feeling Link whimper against his chest, air escaping his mouth as his body demanded oxygen, Dark Link darted quickly to the left, making his way to a small, natural cave near the temple's entrance. They surfaced with a gasp, Link sucking up big mouthfuls of air as he shivered in his shadow's grasp.

Dark Link helped him up onto a slippery, algae-coated ledge in the cave, but Link wouldn't let go of him, so he climbed up next to him, pulling the small, shivering form into his arms. Not for the first time, he thought that Link really was too small for his age. "Rest for a minute. It's a long haul to the surface." He warned. Link nodded, not quite able to speak yet as he panted for breath.

Neither was certain how long they sat there in the cold darkness of the tiny cave, but finally Link took a deep breath and wrapped himself around his shadow once more. "I'm ready." He whispered, clearly terrified, but willing to face the waters of Lake Hylia. Something in his mind warned that this was a bad idea, that the heroes of old had always needed Zora-crafted tunics or armor, and for a moment his body remembered soft blue material that felt like water itself against his skin, remembered magic seeping into his flesh and helping his lungs breathe water as easily as they breathed air.

But, bad idea or not, he did not possess a blue tunic of that nature. So Link took one last breath and held on tight as his shadow dove back down into the tunnel, and exited into the depths of Lake Hylia.

The sudden weight of the water bearing down on them felt like a ton of rocks attempting to crush their bodies as Dark Link fought the force of it, swimming upwards as quickly as he could. No matter how far or fast he swam, however, the clouded night sky above them never seemed to get any closer. Each second stretched into an eternity as he ascended, higher and higher towards the life-giving air above.

The clouds shifted, the silver light of the full moon spilling across the lake, momentarily blinding him. He swam on, however, when he felt the first light thump of Link's little fist against his chest, a sign that he needed to _breathe_, and Dark Link needed to hurry. Distracted as he was, the first painful blow caught him by complete surprise.

A Zora slammed into him from behind, knocking him forward and causing Link to open his eyes and cry out, losing precious air. His struggles increased, forcing Dark Link to wrap an arm around the boy so he didn't drift away. A second Zora appeared out of the gloom, cold, scaly hands grabbing for Link, trying to pull him away. Dark Link lashed out, kicking the first Zora in the stomach and catching the second Zora with a fist to its throat, forcing it away.

He swam up and away from them, but he didn't get very far. A third Zora grabbed his ankles, one and two catching his arms, restraining him while two others pried a struggling Link from his arms, taking off with him towards the surface. Yet another Zora (how many of the blasted creatures were there?) floated before Dark Link muttering a spell with clasped, glowing hands. A bright light appeared around his neck, wrists, and ankles, and his scream ("Bloody stupid!-") was swallowed by the water as the spell overtook him, his last sight that of a struggling Link being dragged away towards the surface, his blue eyes wide with fear and one tiny, pale hand outstretched towards his captive shadow.

* * *

Link's struggles were beginning to slow, an unwelcome blackness gathering at the edges of his vision and a fuzziness in his mind. The Zora pulling him through the water stopped, and Link thought for sure that they intended to let him die. Another Zora, this one visibly younger and smaller than the other two, swam up to them as fast as his fins could carry him. He cupped Link's face in his hand, tilting it up for a better look. Link couldn't help but think that if they weren't underwater, the young Zora would be crying.

He pressed his mouth to Link's and breathed, once, twice, and again, passing oxygen from his gills to Link's lungs. The pressing need for air lessened, but Link still felt weakened as the small Zora pulled back, the four of them speeding towards the sky even faster than Dark Link had. Twice more they had to stop to breathe for him, so deep was the water. If Link were able to focus, he would see that the Zora surrounding him looked determined, but terrified.

Their heads broke the surface and Link gasped for air, coughing up mouthfuls of water. The Zora carried him to the shore of the lake, setting him on the sand and rubbing his back as he coughed and choked. The other Zora surfaced a few minutes later, dragging a limp Dark Link onto the sand, the glowing manacles already burning his shadowy skin. Link looked on with horror.

"Sh-Shadow!" Link choked out, attempting to crawl to him. The small Zora held him back, catching him around the waist.

"No! Link, little brother, please. I don't know how the Shield of Hyrule lost you to this Dark Creature, but do not let his spell overtake you! He'll destroy you, please!" The Zora pleaded, pulling Link back against his chest and holding him close, ignoring his weak struggles. Link sent him a dark glare. His trembling hand reached for his wooden practice sword in the shadows, momentarily forgetting that it had been destroyed. The lesser shadows, the little traitors, only laughed at him. None of the Zora seemed to notice.

"Let us go, Zora, we've done nothing to you! Shadow! Let him go, you're hurting him! Shadow!" Link cried hoarsely. He squirmed and writhed, his body too weak from his near-drowning to put up the fight he wanted. The now purpling bruises on his body ached fiercely as the numbness the cold water granted began to fade.

"Link, please, it's me, Ralis, don't you remember me?" The smallest whispered, turning Link's face to look at him. One of the Zora pulled a glowing crystal from his bag, much like the ones that made up the grand chandelier in the temple below. This he held near Link so they could see him more clearly.

Link yelped and raised his hands to protect his sensitive eyes from the light, but Ralis caught and lowered them with his free hand. Link clenched his eyes shut, vainly attempting to twist his head from Ralis' firm but gentle grip.

"That monster." Ralis whispered, taking in the bruises that covered Link's face and torso, but lingering on the hand print-shaped bruise around his small neck. Ralis suspected that the Shadow's hand would match the mark perfectly. His fins stiffened to a razor-sharp edge as fury coursed through him and he stood, fully intending to punish the Dark Creature for harming his little brother.

"Get away from him!" A burst of adrenaline coursed through his veins and Link leapt to his feet, snatching a spear twice his height from a nearby Zora, pointing it at the Prince. One of the guards reacted instinctively, striking Link across the back of his neck with the bottom of his own spear. Link's eyes flew wide, his mouth opening in a silent cry as he fell forward, the stolen spear clattering to the ground as Ralis rushed to catch him with a shout of alarm.

* * *

He didn't know what to think. Ralis had gone out on patrol with some of his mother's guards that evening. They'd been swimming through the lake for over an hour, and were about to turn back when the clouds parted and something in the distance caught his eye. It looked like a dark spot in the water above the temple, one that hadn't been there before.

Curious, he'd motioned to the guards and together they'd swam silently towards it. Closer, and he could make out an unnaturally shaped man dressed in dark clothes, swimming towards the surface. Closer still, silent as a whisper in the waves, and he realized why the man looked so strange. It was not one man, but a man and a boy. . . a very familiar boy. Ralis watched a small arm thump against a much more powerful chest, a little blond head shaking back and forth in distress.

Throbbing anger rose up in him, and without further thought he motioned sharply to his companions, who darted forward and were upon the pair in a flash, incapacitating the man and pulling the child from him. Ralis caught up to them, breathing his own breath into the child to keep him alive until they reached the surface.

They brought Link ashore the check for injuries, but when the glowing light of the crystal spilled over him, the throbbing anger became a raging inferno of fury, directed at the Dark Creature lying limply where he'd been dropped on the sands. And Link defended him!

What had the creature done that Link would fail to recognize his best friend? What had it done that he had cringed from the light of the crystal as though it burned him? Why, oh why, would Link threaten him, Ralis, in defense of the creature?

The Zora's Crown Prince intended to find out.

"Lock it away. I wish to speak with it later, and no doubt my mother will as well." Ralis ordered, motioning to the creature with disgust. Lifting Link gently, like the most precious of treasures, Ralis cradled the boy in his arms as they swam back to Zoras' Domain.

* * *

Ralis' scene was really hard to write for some reason. I swear I rewrote it about ten times, and I'm still not happy with it. I'm also freaking out because MCAT scores are released tomorrow. AAAAHHH!

Thank you to the Chapter Eight reviewers Kick-Aft (yep, mine too), Sergeant Dreamer (Mum's the word as far as Sheik is concerned), Sky- Princess of Time (I am too, and I hope you stick with it!), and Darkwolflink1 (Nah, it's always Vio. He does have his heroic moments too. Dark is cute though. That, I think, is what has made these last couple chapters so difficult. Dark tries so hard to protect Link, and he ends up hurting him!).

To everyone else: please remember to feed the author. Reviews make me happy, and happy gives me ideas and motivation!


	10. A Shadow's Guilt

Chapter Ten

* * *

"_Could it be, Shadow link?" _

_Dark Link had only a brief glimpse of Vio's startled face before he vanished into the shadows, returning to the edge of the wards of the tower holding the Dark Mirror. With a groan, he dragged himself back up the steps. _

"_It's, the Dark Mirror. As long as it exists, darkness. . . Gufuu will be unstoppable. DAMN!" With a final grunt, he pulled himself up the last step, collapsing in front of the Dark Mirror in an exhausted, panting heap. He shivered. With Princess Zelda gone from the top of the tower, it felt cold and lifeless, colder and deader than the Dark Realm had ever felt to him. _

_Dark Link raised tired eyes to the Dark Mirror, and felt cold horror creeping down his spine._

"_Sheik!" As Gufuu funneled power from the Mirror to use against the heroes, Dark Link's beloved Sheikah writhed inside of it, as though he were being tortured. With heart-wrenching pain like the sudden burning of a thousand suns against his light-sensitive body, Dark Link realized that Sheik _was_ being tortured. Every drop of power he and Gufuu had wrung from the Dark Mirror had come from Sheik's own tormented body and anguished soul. _

_Giving a cry of frustration, sorrow, and rage, Dark Link grabbed the princess's throne and hurled it through the Dark Mirror, shattering most of its glass. In the distance, Gufuu screamed something at him, but Dark Link did not hear. Falling weakly to the ground once more, panting desperately for breath that would not come, he peered up at the remains of the Mirror. Sheik hung limply from his bonds, unmoving. _

"_Sheik?. . .Sheik, please." Dark Link dragged himself carelessly over the shards of broken glass, peering through the remaining bits of mirror at the Sheikah trapped within. He reached out to grab a piece, barely noticing the pain of it slicing through his hands, or the inky-black shadows that leaked from the wound. He pulled until it snapped off, Sheik jerking ever so slightly. _

"_Have to. . . break it all." Dark Link mumbled to himself, gripping the mirror frame to pull himself up. The Dark Mirror was much larger and taller than he, especially in his child-like form, but Dark Link leaned against it, and ignoring Gufuu's threats, threw all of his weight and fading strength into it until the Dark Mirror toppled, shattering on the tiled floor. _

_Dark Link collapsed atop it, watching blearily as the Dark Mirror dissolved into wisps of shadow and sparkles of light, which rose up and around him, draining the power he'd taken and more before reforming into Sheik, standing straight and tall and new again. _

_Sheik's eyes as he looked down at his lover and former captor were unreadable, but as he turned to rush off to ensure the safety of his light, his princess, Dark Link caught his ankle in a weak grip, his eyes looking off towards the distance, to the monstrosity he knew concealed something more._

"_Please, Sheik. . . Look at him. Vaati never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you." _

* * *

"I never meant to hurt you."

"Could have fooled me."

Dark Link's awareness returned abruptly, and he just as quickly wished it hadn't. Pain blossomed across his body, mercilessly trapped in the garish light of the Zora's bright crystals. He pulled at the magical bonds that held him, but the cuffs, seemingly made of the same material as the crystals, refused to budge even an inch, burning his skin even more bitingly for his efforts.

His captor, obviously tired of being ignored, gripped his chin in scaled hands and ruthlessly jerked it upwards, drawing a pained hiss from the shadow as he was forced to look up at the towering helmeted Zora, and the searing light behind him. Another voice, further back in the room, spoke.

"Dark Creature, how is it that you came to have Link in your possession at the bottom of Lake Hylia?" The speaker strode forward into Dark link's line of sight, and he scowled when he realized it was the small Crown Prince of the Zora. He knew from the visions Sheik had shown him that the prince had been a friend of Link's. Or, at least, had claimed to be. If he were a friend, the shadow thought darkly, he would have never allowed such harm to befall the child.

The larger Zora moved aside when he didn't answer immediately, allowing the light of the room to spill more freely across his form. Dark Link barely bit back a scream, his body tensing and jerking as wisps of smoke rose more quickly from his body. Breath escaped from him in harsh pants, his magic-imbued form responding more like that of a weaker being as his strength was pulled from him by the power of the light.

"Link wasn't safe in the Dark Realm any longer!" He growled out, tiny beads of moisture collecting on his forehead. The tall Zora, obviously a guard, moved back to partially shade him from the light, watching him expectantly from under his helmet.

Unseen by Dark Link, Ralis started in shock and fear. "The Dark Realm? What was Link doing there?" Ralis knew the tales. Those that traveled to that evil place were irrevocably changed; why would Link have been there? He stood, moving to stand over Dark Link as well. "Were you holding him there, a captive?" He demanded, worry and anger etched on his features.

"No!" Dark Link insisted vehemently. "He was, that is, we were-" Dark Link shook his head, trying to clear the rising fog from his mind. "Sheik. . ."

"Sheik? The Shield of Hyrule?" Ralis demanded sharply. "Link was with him, wasn't he?"

"Yes." Dark Link whispered, a tremor coming over his body.

"But now he's with you."

"Yes."

"Which means something happened to the Shield of Hyrule." Ralis' voice grew, if possible, even colder, but Dark link didn't seem to notice. "Did you hurt him? Did you hurt the Shield so you could kidnap Link, could _drown_ him?" Ralis' voice rose with his anger, thinking back again to that last Link, the little one they had all failed to save.

"Hurt?. . . Sheik?" The tremors were worsening, his body slumping forward as he lost the ability to hold himself up. The guard seized the collar of his dark tunic, shaking him roughly. A cloud of black smoke shook loose from him, dissipating quickly in the brightly lit room. He gave a pained groan, his eyes rolling back in his head.

He _had _hurt Sheik, hadn't he? He knew Sheik was exhausting himself, and he had allowed Sheik to do it. He let his Sheikah become so weak he couldn't defend himself, and then he failed to save him when he should have been protecting him most fiercely. He was _right there_, and still he failed! It was worse, certainly, than the Dark Mirror incident. Dark Link had counted his lucky stars when Sheik forgave him for that. But this time. . .

This time, there was no Sheik to forgive him.

As this realization finally sank in, it was like a dam burst inside of him. The gleam in his ruby red eyes all but died, and his body hung limp in his bonds, the smoke rising from him at an alarming rate.

"I loved him." Dark Link whispered, his eyes slowly drifting closed.

* * *

_All around Link was blinding white, so bright he couldn't see. He could hear someone crying just up ahead of him, but no matter how quickly he ran they didn't seem to get any closer. _

"_Hello!" Link called, "wait for me! I'll help you, I promise I will!" _

_The crying stopped for just a moment, and he heard the faintest whisper. "_Asaduk etihsuruy_. Forgive me." _

Link woke with a gasp, a hand coming to his heart. It felt as if a part of him were being wrenched cruelly away. Something was wrong with Shadow.

His dream all but forgotten, Link leaped from the large, luxurious bed he found himself in. Guided by a pull in his chest, he tore from the unfamiliar room, startling the guards outside his door. They caught him quickly, and though he struggled, they returned him to bed.

"You must rest, young Link. You must still be in pain." Link took no notice of the state of his own body, struggling valiantly against the guards, who pinned him to the bed with ease. He twisted in an almost unnatural way, learned from hours of training with Sheik, and wriggled free of their hold. Before they could catch him again he was out the door, ducking into a dim corner and pulling the shadows about his body to hide him from sight.

The lesser shadows understood his urgency, and this time they came to him. They too, could feel the fading greater shadow. Tugging on his blue tunic, they guided him through the halls, hiding him from anyone who passed. Link followed willingly, somehow knowing they would not lead him astray, as was sometimes their wont.

They led him to a room with a high, stable shelf he could climb, and towards the grate in the ceiling above. Clambering up the shelves with the ease of a monkey he slid the grate back and hoisted himself inside, carefully replacing the grate. He found himself inside a small tunnel that presumably served as an air vent. Its walls were slick with algae, and the air felt heavier and more humid than the air in the larger rooms. It was so tiny that he had to crawl on his hands and knees through its dimly-lit twists and winding bends.

Several times he had to inch around other gratings leading down into various rooms, often containing armored guards searching frantically for him. If someone did happen to look up, the lesser shadows quickly obscured him from sight. There was no time to lose, and they knew it.

Deeper and deeper they went, the lesser shadows guiding Link at every fork. The stone around him was slippery smooth and very wet, forcing him to grapple for precarious handholds that were few and far between. Several times he lost his footing and slid, only just managing to catch himself before he plummeted painfully into the stone wall of another bend.

Gradually the tunnel grew brighter, until he came upon another fork; one path was bright, the other very dark. If he continued down the right-hand darker path, the lesser shadows could accompany him, but they could not sustain themselves in the growing light of the left.

A sharp, piercing pain in his chest urged him left, and he scrambled down the path as quickly as he could, giving his eyes little time to adjust. In his rush, he almost launched himself head-first off a sudden drop in the path. Catching himself quickly on the other side, he peered down. A good ten feet below was the source of the light, though he could not make out what it was through the brightness. Voices echoed up from the hole, and Link leaned close, his sensitive ears perked to try to hear what was being said.

". . .Which means something happened to the Shield of Hyrule. . ." Link could hear the voice clearly at first, though he couldn't place it.

". . .Did you hurt him? Did you hurt the Shield. . . Link. . . _drown. . ._?" The sound of rushing water had been constantly in the background, and Link hadn't given it much thought. Now however, it sounded as though the water was getting closer, drowning out the voices below.

Starting with horror, Link realized that he wasn't hearing things. The water_ was _getting closer! This wasn't an air vent, it was a water vent!

Link tried to scramble up from his precarious position, but the water was on him before he could, bearing down upon his small frame like a lead weight, ripping his fingers and toes from their holds on the rock and sending him plummeting down, down towards the grating.

Link hit it with enough force to knock his breath away, cracking his head hard on the rock. Light sparked in front of his eyes, disorienting him. The water pounded down on him, the rusted screws on the grating creaking in protest until they snapped, sending him plummeting towards the floor far below.

* * *

High above, the sound of rushing water announced the activation of the dampening system, which kept the myriad rooms in the caves at a comfortable humidity for the Zora within. Ralis paid it little attention, too focused on forcing an answer from his captive.

A thud from above and a shout from his guard made him crane his neck upwards, squinting his eyes to peer past the light-producing crystals they had attached to the metal grating of the dungeon's dampening outlet. The metal creaked and groaned before giving way, Ralis's guard shoving them both from its path. Ralis rolled as he landed, turning just in time to see the grate crash and the crystals shatter, their light dimming significantly.

"Link? Little Vio, please wake up." Hearing the quiet murmur behind him, Ralis and his guard whipped about, stunned by the sight that greeted them.

When he saw his limp light falling from a height certain to kill him, Dark Link had panicked. With a strength of will he'd been certain he did not possess, he'd snapped the chains that bound his magical cuffs to the stone wall. With a burst of panic-driven speed, he'd launched himself across the room to catch Link midair, landing heavily on the hard floor and rolling to cover Link's vulnerable body with his own, shielding him from the flying crystal shards.

Lifting his head, Dark Link peered down at the eight-year-old, soaking wet and clothed in. . . Zora blue? Ignoring that oddity, Dark Link stroked his head gently, speaking to him softly. He drew his hand away, wincing when he found it smeared with blood from where he'd apparently hit his head on the way down. Most of his bruises were gone, all but the ugliest, the mark on his neck that Dark Link himself had given the boy.

"I'm sorry." Dark Link whispered, brushing his fingers across the bruise. "I'm so sorry, Link." The light of the glowing crystal cuffs shown in Link's eyes, causing his brow to furrow as he stirred awake.

"Shadow?" He whispered, "the lesser shadows were very worried about you."

Dark Link gave a small chuckle. "Don't fret about me, I'm all right."

"I'm glad." Link answered tiredly, his eyes drifting shut as he succumbed to a healing sleep.

It was then that Ralis understood. The Dark Creature, whatever its natural nature, obviously meant the world to his little brother, the boy who did not seem to remember him. With a jerk of his head, Ralis instructed the guard to release the cuffs on Dark Link. They fell with small, ringing _chinks_, their harsh light fading to nothing. The shadow took a deep breath, and unless Ralis' eyes were playing tricks on him, he thought he saw streams of shadows peel themselves away from the walls and rejoin with Dark Link, reviving him somewhat.

The shadow stood slowly, Link cradled lovingly in his grasp. He did not turn to face the prince. "I do not care what you were to Link before he came to Sheik and I. When darkness falls, we will leave this place."

Crystals crunched under the heels of his boots as he walked from the room, head held high. He didn't make it very far before Queen Rutella, only just returned from a trip to Castle Town, glided elegantly, but quickly down the hall. She stopped when she saw him, but unlike the suspicion in her son's eyes, her gaze was full of understanding, and relief. Dark Link, standing tall with his small burden, stared her down. Queen Rutella did not seem offended.

"Shadow of the Hero, I sense the magic of the Shield of Hyrule about you. Will you not stay for a time, let the child rest, and tell me what has befallen him?" Her inquiry was gentle, but Dark Link was unmoved.

"I would thank you for a red potion to heal the wound on his head, Queen of the Zora, but we will not linger much longer here." Dark Link's tone was strained. Looking closely, the queen could only just see his hands shaking from exhaustion.

"Then I shall escort you to a room where the two of you may rest." Her eyes looked upon the child with sympathy. "We always knew his destiny would find him, but never so young. . . "

Dark Link chose not to respond, following the queen back through the halls and up to the level where Link had previously slept. A red potion already waited by the bed, and Dark Link nudged Link awake just long enough to drink it, wincing at its bitter taste, before he dropped off to sleep again.

Crawling onto the bed beside him, Dark Link curled protectively about the boy, holding him close to his chest.

Queen Rutella watched, her eyes sad. "He remembers nothing?"

Dark Link was silent for so long it seemed he would ignore her again, but finally he answered. "Nothing since the day he woke up in the Dark Realm, after Sheik and I saved him from those who would have killed him." There was another lengthy pause. "We thought it best to keep him hidden, train him, try to protect him. But now, without Sheik. . . " His throat caught and he stopped abruptly, bowing his head so his hair hid his face from view.

Deciding it best to leave them be, the queen turned to go. At the door, she turned back one more time, to see that Dark Link had pulled something from his tunic; a small orb on a chain, swirled through with white and black.

The black had almost completely taken over.

* * *

You know, on one level I keep thinking Dark Link is way too emotional. But then again, he is running like mad from a crazy ex-girlfriend who wants to kill the second-most precious person to him, the first being Sheik, whose loss he is still dealing with. I suppose he has every right to be emotional! What do you guys think?

Thank you to the Chapter Nine reviewers Darkwolflink1 (I bet you feel really sorry for Dark Link now, since the poor guy was basically just tortured. Poor Dark Link! Kill him off? Well, I wouldn't say I'm planning that, exactly. . . ), Kick-Aft, Sergeant Dreamer (I can only imagine what you want to do to Ralis now. And I think Vio's not going to be worrying about those types of relationships for a while, since he's about eight. Maybe later, if Link ever forgives Ralis for this.), and Sky- Princess of Time (Ugh. Ruto. She made me cringe. Actually, I think she'd be scarier if she caught Dark Link. *shudders*).

R & R please, everyone. I like to know what you think!


	11. Projects: the Tale of the Necklace

Chapter Eleven

* * *

_Small hands whose size belied their great strength caressed his neck, clasping a delicate-looking silver chain about his throat. A gentle kiss over the clasp sealed the magic between them, and Dark Link sighed as if a great weight had lifted from his shoulders. _

_Curious, he lifted the small, swirling orb on the chain, watching as inky blackness bled into the once pristine white. The magic within it swirled, the white glowing softly enough not to pain him. The image of a Sheikah Eye appeared in the center for a brief moment before it was obscured by the dancing magic once again. _

"_So, what it is?" _

_With a soft laugh and a gentle smile, for his shadow was a small thing then, like that of a normal Hylian shortly after the noon meal, Sheik wrapped his bandaged hands around Dark Link's larger ones, placing his head on the other's shoulder. _

"_It's a filter of sorts, if you will. I created it for you. The negative energy you receive from the Hero- that's the darkness you see here- will be siphoned into it, so that you can cleanse it a little at a time- with my help- as you ought to, rather than trying to do it all at once." Sheik's fingers traced over the orb, the raw energy trapped inside following his touch. _

"_It will also help you if your own emotions become too much to handle. I love you, Dark Link, and I want nothing more than to protect you." Sheik guided the orb gently back down to his chest, where it rested over his tunic near his heart. _

_Dark Link pulled Sheik into his arms, holding him close. "Thank you, Sheik. I'll wear my treasure always." _

"_Let it be so." Said Sheik, closing his eyes contentedly. _

* * *

Evening found Dark Link and Link slinking back through the halls of the Zoras' Domain. Dark Link had pulled the shadows around them, not trusting himself to refrain from harming those who had imprisoned him. They exited near the mouth of the waterfall, once a little trickle from the Zora throne room, and now a wonder in its own right.

Link's breath caught as he took in the beauty of the place at night, softly glowing from the light of the many stars above and the crystals below. It was a truly magical place, and Link was in awe.

"So those are the stars." He murmured reverently. Dark Link smiled, pleased that Link could enjoy such a sight. Something tugged at the back of his mind, guilt, perhaps, but he ignored it.

"We should go," he said suddenly. "The princess probably doesn't know about. . . about Sheik, and he would want us to- to warn her." It was difficult for him to say, because admitting it made it somehow more real. Link took his shadow's hand comfortingly.

"If you want to get to the castle by morning, I can show you a short cut." Said a new voice behind them. Dark Link and Link whipped about, to see Ralis standing just inside the stone wall, under the light of a crystal. Dark Link's eyes narrowed in suspicion, and he pulled Link protectively behind him.

Ralis looked hurt, but he made no move to come closer. "There's an old tunnel that leads from our lands to the castle. It will shave three days off your journey. I'll show you where it is."

Link placed a hand on his shadow's arm and stepped past him, towards Ralis. Dark Link moved as if to protest, but he fell back, thinking better of it. Link gave Ralis a formal bow.

"Thank you for your kind offer, Prince Ralis. We would be very grateful for your assistance." He said, straightening. Ralis knelt before him so they were eye level, his expression pained.

"Link," His tone was odd, longing, loving, and heartbroken. "There is no need to bow to me. We were like brothers, you and I. I visited you at the village whenever I could. When I realized what they had done I-"

"Enough!" Dark Link snarled suddenly, his expression fierce. "Enough of that, stop right now." Link looked between the two, feeling that there was something they weren't telling him, but neither gave him a chance to ask.

Gaining control of himself, Ralis stood and held out a small bundle to Dark Link. "Food and rupees for your journey, and Link's violet tunic, repaired by our weavers. The cloth the items are wrapped in will keep them from getting wet." He said as Dark Link opened it, checking every item carefully before accepting it grudgingly, passing it to the lesser shadows. To Link, he held out a pair of blue gloves.

"You'll need to cover your birthmark while you're in the city. It's too dangerous if someone should see. There's a violet pair to match your tunic too." Link slipped them on, admiring the feel of them against his skin, like water woven into cloth. Ralis smiled, remembering the look of wonder on young Link's face when he'd first given him a blue tunic eight years prior. "The blue tunic will protect you while you're in the water. It allows you to breathe like a Zora, so you'll never drown."

"Thank you." Said Link, bowing again despite Ralis' words to the contrary.

"Are you going to show us this path or not?" Dark Link snapped irritably, a touch of jealously in his voice.

"Of course." said Ralis, moving towards the falls. He looked back to see the pair peering uneasily towards the edge. "Come, you won't be harmed." He urged softly.

Ignoring Dark Link's grasping hand trying to pull him back, Link bravely stepped towards Ralis. A grin spread across his face and his eyes shone as Ralis took his hand and together they ran forward and jumped, plunging headfirst out of sight towards the water below.

Dark Link stifled a panicked scream, calling the shadows to him and passing in a blink to the shore at the bottom of the falls, watching Link plummet to what he was certain would be the boy's end.

Link and Ralis hit the water with a tremendous splash, Dark Link waiting white-knuckled on the shore for almost a minute before the pair emerged, laughing, from the water. Ralis wrapped an arm around Link's waist, bringing the grinning boy to the shore.

Dark Link was not amused. He was, in fact, absolutely _furious_. "LINK!" He yelled, startling the nearby Zora, who all looked on in interest. "What in the shadows did you think you were _doing_? You! Can't! Swim! Were you trying to get yourself killed?" He stormed up to the boy, grabbing his shoulders in a tight grip and shaking him roughly. "What if you hit your head, or that Zora was lying? Did you forget he tried to kill me a few hours ago?"

Ralis strode forward to pull them apart, but abruptly Dark Link fell to his knees, pulling Link close as he cried into the blue-clad shoulder. "I couldn't bear it if something happened to you." He whispered brokenly.

"I'm sorry Shadow." Link mumbled, wrapping his arms around Dark Link. "I didn't think you would- I mean, I just don't think Prince Ralis would do anything to hurt me. I know you wouldn't, I trust you, and I trust him too. I can't really explain why." He had a faraway look in his eyes, like one who could almost recall a very fond memory.

It took another minute for Dark Link to control himself. When he did he released Link and stood, glaring at their audience. "What are you looking at?" He snapped, causing them all to swim off.

Ralis, though still unhappy, led them from the domain and along a path beside the river. Turning into a hidden bend, they reached a place where part of the river split off from the rest, heading down a dark tunnel.

"This way," he said, gesturing to the fast-moving current. Dark Link eyed him distrustfully, and bent to lift Link into his arms, unwilling to let the Zora take him. Ensuring Link had a secure grip, he eased himself into the water after Ralis, and allowed the current to carry them into the tunnel.

There was a sound and pressure like being sucked through a tube, and within a minute they emerged into Hyrule field. Ralis directed them past the steps leading up to the grass, and instead brought them to the outer wall of the moat surrounding Castle Town.

"You won't be able to enter the castle at night, but I can get you into the town." He dove down and pulled out a loose bar from one of the gates, slipping through. Link had to let go of Dark Link to follow, glad that he wore the blue tunic as Dark Link somehow managed to get stuck under the glow of one of the Zora's crystals and they had to pull him free (Dark Link glared at him for laughing, but that only made Link laugh harder).

Ralis swam around to the other side of the moat, near one of the four bridges that allowed entry into the town. "I must return home now," he whispered, "but you can scale the wall here and make it to the other side if you're careful. Good luck."

"Thank you Ralis!" Link called after the retreating Zora in a whisper. Dark Link humphed. Pulling the shadows around them to obscure them from the sight of the guards (a useless exercise, they soon found, since the guards at the top of the wall were asleep) , Dark Link quickly climbed the wall and dropped down on the other side, setting Link down.

Out of the warm water now, Link shivered. Noticing this, Dark Link frowned and pulled him close to keep him warm, urging him down the dark street they'd descended into in search of an inn.

"Hey there cutie, what'cha doin' with a lil'un out this time a night?" A buxom blond Hylian woman in a barely-there red dress asked from the dimly-lit doorway of a run-down looking building. Dark Link pulled Link closer protectively.

"None of your business!" He snapped irately. She clucked her tongue, stepping towards them. Link looked on, frankly bewildered.

"Come now honey, I could give ya a much better time-"

Dark Link threw out an arm, the shadows keeping her from coming any closer to them. Piercing ruby eyes glared at her, a sneer planted across his pale, sunless face. "Don't you dare insinuate such a thing about him again. And _honey_, I don't swing your way." Grabbing Link's hand, he pulled him away from the frightened woman, still frozen in place. Link thought it best not to question him.

Finding a small, nearly-hidden tavern in a shadier part of the town, Dark Link led them inside. The bar room was smokey and dimly-lit, its inhabitants either seated around scarred wooden tables playing cards or tipsy at the bar. Dark Link kept Link close to him.

"We need a room for the night." They'd found rupees in the river along the way, but even if they hadn't, Dark Link would have created the illusion of them with the lesser shadows to ensure them a room. Link, however, wouldn't have been pleased with that move, chivalrous little hero that he was.

In the midst of Dark Link's haggling with the inn's owner ("Fifty rupees for this dump? That's cheating!") Link slipped over to one of the many card tables.

"What are you playing?" The four men paused, looking down at the small boy in the shimmering blue tunic and matching gloves, his sky-blue eyes looking on with curiosity.

"It's called Goddesses, lad. Ever heard of it?" One gruff-looking man finally answered.

"No, I can't say I have. Will you show me?" Link stood on tiptoe, as he was so small he couldn't see over the table.

"It's a bettin' game, boy. Ya can't bet, ya don't play." Grunted another.

"I have rupees." Link laid a yellow on the table. He didn't honestly know which was which. There was no need for such things in the Dark Realm. The mens' eyes grew large, and one moved aside to give him space to sit.

The gruff man explained. "We got here three card types, Din, Nayru, and Farore. Each turn you lay down three cards, always three, and call your strength. The strength represents what the majority of your cards are, or at least, what you say they are, since you can lie. You call Power if most are Din, Wisdom for Nayru, Courage for Farore, and Destruction if you've laid all three."

Link visibly jerked. "I understand the rest, but why Destruction?"

One man, this one hidden by a cloak, snickered. "Cause that's what happens to Hyrule every time the Three get together, that's why boy!" The others burst into laughter. "What are they teaching kids these days?"

Drawn by the ruckus, Dark Link finished his business quickly and collected Link (and his rupee) from the table. Hustling him up the stairs to the room at the end of the hall, Dark Link shut and bolted the door, leaning against it with his eyes shut.

"Why did they call it Destruction, Shadow?" Link asked softly.

"Because they don't know any better. They can't see the Truth." Dark Link answered tiredly, turning to face his young light. "Go to bed, Link. I'm going to scope out the palace. In the meantime stay here, and please stay out of trouble." Dissolving into a transparent wisp of shadow, Dark Link left the room unseen.

Still troubled, Link pulled off his damp blue tunic, reaching to the shadows for his dry violet. Heading towards the bed, he paused, spotting a book similar to the one Sheik had given him, _A History of Hyrule_. Curious, Link flipped open to the middle of the book and started to read.

_. . . A century or more passed before Courage and Wisdom appeared again. Together, they cast dark magic which summoned Power once more from the Dark Realm. . . _

Link slammed the book shut, shaking his head fiercely. No. No. NO!

* * *

"_. . . Look at him. Vaati never meant to hurt you. I never meant to hurt you." _

_Sheik watched as Dark Link's eyes slipped closed, black smoke pouring from his dying form. Sheik knew he should be angry, and he was, but not at Dark Link. _

_Kneeling by his child-sized lover, Sheik ran his bandaged fingers gently through the limp black hair. "Oh Dark Link," he whispered, his voice pained, saddened, but full of care and love for the shadow that meant more to him than his own life. "If only there were a way I could protect you from this." Holding him bridal style, he lifted Dark Link into his arms, vanishing from the top of the tower and reappearing in the Dark Realm. _

_He laid Dark Link tenderly by their campfire, the space unchanged in the time they'd been away from it. Shadows wrapped around him, returning him to his preferred adult form Sheik placed a soft kiss on his temple before he stood, preparing to return to Hyrule. _

"_Please. . ." Ruby red eyes stared pleadingly up at him. "Help Vaati. . ." The eyes closed again. _

_Bloody eyes flashed a jealous ruby. "Oh, I'll help him all right." Whispered a voice both Sheik's and not. _

_A flash and he was back at the battlefield, his eyes blood again. The Four Heroes were embroiled in a battle with Ganon once more, the princess captured, but otherwise unharmed. Gufuu was nowhere to be seen on the heights of the tower. _

_Flashing to a lower level Sheik finally spotted him, a deflated black blob of a being lying still on one of the lowest towers. Appearing next to him, Sheik sneered at the being beneath his mask. He could see the creature within the demon, the little Minish who lost control of the power within himself. The Minish boy was not evil, not in the way in the demon was. _

_But that didn't stop Sheik's vengeance. _

* * *

Well there you are, a bit more information regarding the events of Four Swords as told by me, and the truth of Dark Link's necklace. There's more to this last scene, but I decided to hold off on the rest of it. It's funny, I had this whole outline, but scenes tend to be longer than I think they will, so I'm behind my outline. Oh well.

Thank you to the Chapter Ten reviewers Kick-Aft (good point. Though you can read Link's emotions in the manga pretty well I think.), Sergeant Dreamer (Vio is quite forgiving. He's the Hero, after all!), princess-of-all-saiyins, FourSwordsAddict (Wow, it seems Chapter Ten was stronger than I thought! Well you're getting lots of Sheik flashbacks. . .), and darkwolflink1 (And there's the explanation for the orb. The Zora did give it to him. He was hurt when they met in the lake, so they patched him up and dressed him in the blue tunic while they fixed his violet one).

R and R please!


	12. What Have You Done?

There really isn't any excuse except that I had two alternate scenes written and had to choose. Enjoy, and don't kill me!

Chapter Twelve

* * *

_Sheik wasn't thinking clearly when he began his project. His mind was overtaken with thoughts of punishment, of revenge. Even death was too good for the one who had caused his lover such anguish. He'd thought no further than that._

_Save the Minish? Hardly._

_He created a prison designed to torment and destroy the demon slowly, a magical prison secured in Hyrule Castle in a courtyard nobody would ever use again. Back then, watching the white space bleed black with the evil reflected within it, a sort of vindictive pleasure washed through him. He enjoyed watching the demon squirm, enjoyed watching it scream as he had screamed in the endless, inky black void of the Dark Mirror. _

_Only later did he see his prison's true potential. Only later did he watch it closely as it purified the demon, removing its influence from the Minish boy, who was, miraculously, left intact. As the orb grew steadily whiter, a spark of an idea occurred to the Sheikah. _

_What of Dark Link? Of Ganon? Could his prison's purification powers not work for them too?_

_Well. . . _

_Dark Link's little orb necklace was an improved version of Sheik's prototype. As long as Dark Link wore it, it seemed to help him. His uncontrollable rage and jealousy was muted by its presence, and the purification of the Hero no longer effected him so strongly. But for Ganon. . . it could work, Sheik thought, if only he didn't have the Triforce of Power to aid in his escape from it. Even with the Triforce, a very powerful spell might hold him long enough, but that would take more magic than Sheik, the Princess, the Hero, or even the Sages combined possessed. _

_His projects had another flaw, one that Sheik was all too aware of. They drew much of their power from him, a constant, if slight, drain on his magic. Without him, they could not last. _

* * *

The wind blew gently through the open window, bringing the sound of soft crying with it. Link's clear blue eyes blinked slowly open, looking about the room. Dark Link had not yet returned, so Link could not at first identify who had woken him.

"_Usamihsiageno, asaduk etihsuruy_. Please, forgive me." Came a broken whisper. Link's eyes darted to the window, where a nearly transparent figure hovered. The small being was curled tightly into a ball, violet-covered head tucked tightly between red-clad legs. It slowly lifted its head, lavender locks parting to reveal doleful red eyes.

"Please." It whispered again, floating back and through the window.

"Wait!" Scrambling from the bed so fast he nearly tumbled from it, Link pulled on his hat and clambered from the window, following after the ghost-like form. "Wait for me!"

Past silent shops and darkened alleyways Link ran, always following the ghost. No matter how quickly he ran, the figure remained just ahead of him, sometimes curled up and crying as if it didn't know he was there, sometimes staring at him with eyes so full of pain it made Link's gut wrench. It led him deeper into a seedier part of the town, past buildings that might once have been quite grand, but were now old and dilapidated, with broken windows and boarded-up doors.

It hovered over a metal grating for only a moment before slowly sinking out of sight. "Please," it whispered, "Forgive me. I couldn't stop him. I tried, I tried. . . "

"Wait! Forgive you for what? Stop who? Wait!" Link heaved the grating out of the way, climbing down, down the ladder to what looked like an old, long-unused tunnel. They were below the sewers, if the dripping along the walls was any indication. The gray stone walls were roughly cut, with only the barest hints of what might have been attempts to carve a coat of arms every hundred feet or so.

The being hovered silently at the end of the tunnel, still mumbling to itself as though it did not see him. Link sprinted after it, his eyes unhindered by the darkness.

The figure hovered by a slab of stone that differed from the rest of the tunnel. When Link drew near, it vanished through it. Pausing a moment to catch his breath, Link examined the area. Running his hands lightly over the stone, his fingers caught on a hidden crack, revealing a door. Further along the wall he found three levers set back into an alcove, scraps of nearby decaying fabric suggesting the levers had once been hidden from sight.

"Maybe. . . " Link pulled the first lever. A groaning bellow like the sound of a wounded Moblin rang out, and large, screaming rats dropped down around him. Link yelped, grabbing a nearby stick to beat them off. Lunging for the second handle, he pulled it, and after a moment the door creaked opened. Link lunged through it, the door slamming shut behind him a moment later. The squeals of the mad rats were abruptly cut off.

Panting, Link sat for a moment to nurse the various bite marks on his skin.

"A_saduk etihsuruy." _The figure floated near the ceiling on top of a thick, collapsed column. Link began to climb, the many crumbling columns of ancient stone serving as his sometimes less-than-stable handholds.

"Wait! I want to help you!" He called, the figure moving away as he drew nearer.

The quiet whisper came again. "I'm so sorry, so very, very sorry." The tips of red sandals vanished through a trapdoor in the ceiling as Link reached it. The gap between the trapdoor and the last column still standing was no more than four feet; a man would have to crouch to stand atop it, but the top of Link's hat didn't even brush against it.

Standing on his tiptoes, head tilted back, Link examined the face of the trapdoor. Unlike the rest of the tunnel it had once been beautifully painted, though the colors had long since faded. It was ornately carved, with images of the three Goddesses surrounding their symbol, the Triforce. Link pushed up against it. It didn't budge.

Scowling, Link removed the violet gloves Ralis had given him and threw his slight weight against the trapdoor, his left hand landing squarely in the center of the Triforce. The mark on his left hand began to glow, the lower right triangle much more brilliantly than the other two. The carvings lit up in response, the Triforce glowing intensely golden while each of the Goddesses flared their respective color; Din, surrounded by dancing ruby flames, Naryu, caressed by sapphire waters, and most brightly of all glinted the emerald Goddess of life, Farore, whom Sheik had said smiled upon him.

The door swung open, carrying him with it. Link tumbled forward onto lush grass, undisturbed for many years. Gazing upwards, Link saw again the wonderful starry sky that had greeted him at the top of the Zora's waterfall. The moon hung full and low in the sky to light his way, although he didn't need it.

The lavender being was nowhere to be seen.

Looking about, Link found himself again surrounded by stone. In front of him was a shrine of sorts, an empty pedestal with an ancient carving set behind it. The place pulsed faintly with familiar magic, painfully familiar magic.

"Sheik. . ." Link whispered, standing slowly and looking about hopefully as if his Sheikah guardian would emerge from the shadows. "I feel your magic Sheik. Please, Shadow really needs you."

Stepping closer to the source of the magic, Link drew nearer to the shrine. The inscriptions were written in a text he couldn't read, but he recognized the shrine from a picture in one of Sheik's books. It seemed to glow with an odd sort of light all its own, and though the magic was weak, Link felt his hope rise.

"Sheik? Are you there?" Link lifted his left hand, placing it over the eye of the carved monster, where the light glowed most brightly. The magic flared, and the illusion shattered. Link let out a yelp, throwing his arms up to cover his face.

When he could see again, Link stared in wonder. Where the carving behind the shrine had been there was now a large Sheikah eye, the Eye of Truth. The pupil of the eye glowed brightly, like a window to another world where darkness never reigned.

"Sheik!" Link hurried forward, gripping the edge of the pupil to pull himself up and peer inside.

Sheik wasn't there.

Instead, the figure he'd chased through the streets and down the tunnel sat in the center of an almost pure-white room, marred only by a narrow strip of black. He was dressed in a lavender tunic, cloak and hat, with red pants and sandals. His skin, Link now saw, was a pale purple-gray. His ears were slightly pointed, almost like Link's own. His eyes, however, were bright red; not blood like Sheik's, or ruby like Shadow's, simply red. Those eyes stared at him, wide and frightened like a young child's. Tear tracks trailed down his cheeks. He had obviously been crying.

"L-Link? Hero?" The whisper was so quiet Link might not have heard it had he been anything but Hylian. Hoisting himself up to perch on the edge of the pupil, Link smiled comfortingly and held out his hand.

"Hey, it's all right. Here, take my hand. I'll help you out, you don't have to cry anymore." Link urged softly.

The other boy, red eyes blinking slowly, looked from the proffered hand to Link's face uncertainly. "Hero, _asaduk etihsuruy? _Do you forgive me, Hero, for what I've done?"

Link blinked, and when his eyes opened they were flecked with not just violet this time, but green and red, with subtle hints of a darker blue as well. "You've already been forgiven."

A slow, relieved smile spread across the boy's face, his breathing so ragged that Link thought he might cry again. The boy threw himself forward, chains of magic snapping like brittle twine, to grab Link's hand, his lifeline. Link gave one firm tug, and together they tumbled back, out of the prison of white.

The Eye of Truth glowed so brightly Link and the other boy were forced to cover their eyes. Cracks appeared along the surface of the eye, spreading deeper and deeper until the image shattered and dissolved into bits of magic, flying up and away over the castle walls. Only old stone remained, a forgotten shrine now rendered illegible by the wind and rains.

Link turned towards the boy, surprised to find him sobbing still. "Hey, are you alright? What was that? Hey? Why are you crying?" He placed a hand on one lavender-covered shoulder, and abruptly found himself with an armful of this other boy, who clung to him as though his very life depended on it.

"Thank you! Thank you Link!" He wailed piteously.

Link's face flushed as he patted his back awkwardly. "Hey, it's all right. I couldn't just leave you there. What's your name, anyway?"

The boy sniffled, rubbing at his too-red eyes. "Vaati. My name is Vaati."

Vaati. The name seemed familiar, somehow.

"Over here! It came from in here!"

Link whipped about to face a door he hadn't noticed earlier (was it there before?). Outside, rough voices and clanking metal announced the presence of what Link assumed were palace guards. Acting quickly, Link wrapped him arms around Vaati and pulled the shadows around them both, placing a hand over the boy's mouth to silence him.

It was only natural that the explosion of magic had been felt elsewhere, Link thought. They must have come to investigate.

Two heavy bangs and the doors slammed open, filling the courtyard with armored guards, spears held at the ready. One of them held up a strange lantern covered by an ornate cloth. Holding it high, he whipped off the cloth, revealing the blinding light held within its metal frame.

A shadow-disperser.

With a start, Link noticed the shadows withdrawing from them, burned away by the strength of the light. The pair of them exchanged startled glances and ran, losing the last shreds of their shadowy protection.

"Get them!"

Tearing across the long grass they bolted for a second door (Link was positive that one hadn't been there five minutes ago) almost hidden beneath an archway. Throwing their weight against it they just managed to open it enough to squeeze out, darting down the blue-carpeted hall beyond.

On and on they ran down identical halls, past portraits of regal monarchs, the kings looking down with haughty eyes while the beautiful queens smiled with eyes too wise. Hylian Royal Guards yelled after them, threats of pain and punishment that only spurred the two to run faster. The boys whipped about a corner, and Vaati let out a gasp.

A dead end.

Whirling about, the clanking of the soldiers drawing ever nearer, Link spotted a window set high in the castle wall. He took a running leap and jumped for it, his fingers only just catching the edge before he slipped, though he didn't fall.

Vaati floated in the air by the windowsill, grasping Link's left wrist in his hand. He dropped a foot, the strain of the magic visible on his face as he scrambled to settle on a firm perch, bracing himself on the stone sill as he hauled Link up, teeth gritted and eyes screwed shut in a grimace.

Link climbed up onto the sill, staring at Vaati in wonder. The boy was a magician? A shout from the soldiers below drew him out of his reverie, and Link shoved against the window, forcing it to open out onto the roof beyond.

Link leapt out and Vaati climbed down more slowly, exhausted by his minor use of magic after so long without his power. Link took his arm, tugging him across the wooden tiles. Rain poured down around them. The tiles were wet and slippery, slowing their progress. The guards had climbed out after them; Link could hear them cursing as their heavy armor unbalanced them.

"Look!" Vaati tugged at Link's tunic, pointing towards the other end of the roof. More guards. They were surrounded.

"Only one thing to do!" Link shouted to be heard over the downpour. "Go up!" Leaping as high as he could, Link grabbed hold of the edge to pull himself up to the roof above. Leaning back over the drop precariously, he extended a hand to help the weary Vaati up.

Together, they scrambled upwards, their eyes on a window high above while the guards cursed and swore down below. Rain spattered in their eyes and made their progress slow and difficult. They were nearly to the flattened rooftop when it happened.

The shingle in Vaati's hand suddenly came loose and he slipped, losing his footing and sliding backwards, desperately scrambling for purchase. Link threw himself sideways in an attempt to stop the other's fall, but lost his grip on the slick rooftop. Together they fell, plummeting backwards towards the shouting guards and unforgiving ground below.

A swirl of darkness and shadow shot between the guards, knocking many of them screaming and cursing onto the flagstones. It flew across the top of the building, swooping down to catch Link and Vaati in its grasp. The guards that had thus far managed to stay on their feet screamed and threw themselves to the side as the darkness darted back between them and over the castle walls.

The swirl of shadows and magic settled in one of the gardens, hidden behind a wall of roses. There, out of sight from prying eyes, it dissipated to reveal Dark Link, standing with his arms wrapped around them both. His expression told Link he was furious, and perhaps two seconds away from scolding him severely for his rashness-

"Shadow!" The plaintive cry rose not from Link, but Vaati, who threw his arms around the shadow and clung as though he'd never let go again. "I'm sorry! I'm _sorry_ I'm so, so sorry! I wanted to tell you, truly I did, but the Sheikah wouldn't let me!"

Link watched, bewildered as his shadow's face changed from incredulity to realization to anger.

"_Sheik._" The name was spat with more venom than Link had ever heard his shadow direct at Sheik. His ruby eyes were dark with rage as he clutched Vaati to him like a desperate mother who'd only just found her missing child once again.

None of them noticed the orb around Dark Link's neck crack, or the venomous black vapor that leaked from it.

What felt like an eternity passed in silence while Dark Link attempted to control his temper. When he spoke again, the news was not welcome. "Come. In this chaos we'll never be able to find the princess, and dawn is near, regardless." The shadows gathered again and they left the castle, returning to the darkened streets of Castle Town. Taking each boy's hand Dark Link led them quickly down the streets towards the rented tavern room.

"Oh Darkling, my precious, it's time to return to me!" That hated, high crooning voice called.

Link turned, but none of them had time to react before she was upon them, her hands around Dark Link's throat then gone again. She landed some feet away, perched elegantly atop an old marble column, something held high in her grasp. It took Link a moment to recognize it, but when he did his eyes widened in horror.

Dark Zelda held Dark Link's necklace aloft, the one Dark Link had told Link he must never remove. Unlike the last time Link saw it, however, this time it was completely black.

"Don't you dare!" Dark Link's voice came out strangled, frightened. He glared at Dark Zelda heatedly, stepping forward to place himself between her and his boys.

"Don't I dare what, Darkling dear?" She asked in mock-innocence, turning the orb over in her hand. "Oh look, it's cracked already! Well, what use is that? Why don't I just. . ." Her fist tightened around the necklace, the orb crumbling into dust.

"NO!"

They weren't certain who shouted it, but the next moment the shards of the orb exploded with energy so black and terrible that it pushed Link and Vaati back, sending them flying into the wall behind. Ribbons of darkness shot up around Dark Link, crackling in the air with their power. They surged around and into him, lifting him bodily so that he hovered, head thrown back and back arched as he screamed his pain to the heavens.

As quickly as it began, it stopped, and Dark Link dropped to the ground in a sizzling heap. Link forced himself away from the wall, running to his shadow's side. "Shadow!"

Dark Link threw out his hand and Link was tossed back once more, hitting the brick wall with a sickening thud. Rising to his knees Dark Link began to cackle, and when he lifted his ruby eyes they glinted with madness and anger, but most of all they reflected pure _evil_.

* * *

Uh-oh. . . *gulps and hides* Hey, leave a review please, and don't forget to check out my poll.

Thank you to the Chapter Eleven reviewers Kick-Aft (probably a combination of forgetting, not trusting the Zora, and protectiveness. Thank you, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.), Darkwolflink1 (Dun dun duuunn. . . .maybe you were right the first time about OoT Link. . . honestly, I make a lot of this up as I go, or randomly decide to change stuff.), Sergeant Dreamer, and FourSwordsAddict (I'm interested to see how your opinions of the pairings change over time.)


	13. Master Ezlo Never Knew

Funny thing, getting sick. It takes your corny story ideas and makes them make sense. Well, hopefully they still make sense when I can think straight, but here goes nothing!

Chapter Thirteen

* * *

Master Ezlo never knew.

He never knew that the magical cap he created harbored a demon, never knew that even after that ancient Hero freed me the demon continued to live on, deep in a hidden place within me.

The others could see it, I think, could see the demon I harbored. No Minish wanted anything to do with me, none but Master Ezlo. Ironically, it was their cruelty that allowed the demon to retain a foothold in my heart, an opening by which he could steal my mind, my body, and my power, and bend it all to his will.

I gave him too much control in my efforts to dull my pain. When he took over completely, pushed my consciousness to the back of my mind and ordered me to sleep, I could not fight him. Thus, I spent many years outside the world of the living.

But there was a flaw in the demon's power. Every night for one hour only he lost control of my body, and was forced to return it. He prepared well for these times; I woke bound and gagged, my magic repressed. Often, I wasn't certain that I was awake at all, instead dreaming of ruby red eyes and pale, gentle hands.

I will never return to that state again. I would gladly die first.

* * *

High-pitched laughter and deep chuckles echoed around the alleyway as Dark Link slowly stood to his feet, arms outstretched to the sky as he reveled in his power. Turning, he strode towards Link with a measured, unhurried pace, an insane grin on his face.

He lifted the boy by the front of his collar and shadows wrapped around him unbidden, shrinking him to Link's too-small size. He didn't seem to notice, merely hoisting the choking Link higher with a strength he shouldn't have.

"Kill him, Darkling!" Dark Zelda squealed. "Kill him, and be free!"

"Here I am, myself once more. And here you are, _Hero,_ just a weak little boy, too small for your power." He cackled insanely, slamming Link against the wall when he tried to struggle, drawing a pained cry. He leaned in close, his lips by the Hylian boy's pointed ear.

"I know you're awake, Hero, you have been for a while. I can feel it. But Link isn't ready for you, and you know it. Your power is going to rip him apart. Or at least it would, if I let him live that long." Dark power, deeper than shadow, gathered ominously around his hand.

"I won't let you!" A burst of wind shot forth, catching Dark Link off guard and knocking him back. Link scrambled away from him, coughing and gasping for breath. Vaati swayed on his feet, forced to put a hand on the brick wall for balance.

Dark Zelda laughed, swooping down to float around him in taunting circles. "Look here Darkling. The great Wind Mage, Vaati, reduced to such a state as this." She leaned in close, observing him as he panted for breath, beads of sweat trickling down his face. The teasing expression dropped. "Such a weak little boy you are, even after all these years. I much prefer Gufuu."

"Gufuu will NEVER return!" Vaati shouted, forcing her away from him with a gust of wind.

She tumbled head over heels backwards before she managed to recover with a shriek, black lightning shooting from her hands to envelope him. Vaati screamed as the dark energy coursed through his body, shocking the demon in his soul.

"And now, brat?" She asked, sauntering closer. Vaati panted and gasped, sweat dripping from his brow as he felt the familiar stirring in his chest, the laughter in his mind.

_No, no, no! _Vaati fought back with everything he had, shoving the demon back down within him, but Dark Zelda was having none of it. Lightning shot from her fingertips once more, and Vaati screamed himself hoarse, writhing painfully on the ground.

Dark Link had recovered by now, and delivered a devastating kick to Link to keep him down before turning his attention to the pair, laughing himself silly. Link tried to struggle to his feet, but Dark Link whirled on him, tackling him to the filthy ground of the alley and pinning him there with a foot on his neck. "Stay down!"

Vaati fell limp when Dark Zelda lifted her assault, leaning in close to him. "Gufuu?" She crooned.

"_Never!_" His voice came out distorted, pained, but still his. Dark Zelda scowled her displeasure, blasting him hard, sending him careening into Dark Link and both out of the alley and into the town square beyond.

Vaati's red eyes opened, clouded and half-lidded with pain. His gaze met Dark Link's for the briefest of moments. He struggled to speak. "You'll hate yourself for hurting him, Shadow Link. I. . .couldn't let you. . ."

Dark Link's own ruby eyes narrowed and he snarled his annoyance, shoving Vaati's limp form off of him and standing with his arms crossed, not even so much as glancing at the fallen Minish again. Dark Zelda exited the alley holding the dazed Link by the collar. She dropped him at Dark Link's feet.

"Finish him off, Darkling!" She ordered, pointing at the boy as though he were only so much trash Dark Link had forgotten to take out.

"As you wish, princess." He replied, taking her hand and kissing it before turning back to Link. He nudged the boy with his foot, turning him over onto his back. Kneeling beside him he bent close, staring into those blue eyes, flecked with violet. He could see the Hero struggling, fighting against his child's body, doing more damage still. The sight of it amused him. He taunted the Hero, his hand crackling with energy held just above the boy's chest, close enough that stray wisps of power stung and burned him, but didn't kill him, not yet. The Hero fought harder still, succeeding only in hurting himself more in a form that couldn't handle his power.

This was why the Hero wasn't allowed to be a child.

A chuckle of amusement escaped Dark Link's lips, and he leaned in close as he pressed his hand against the boy's chest, drawing a tortured scream. He felt the boy's heart stop for a moment, then start to beat again, weak and fluttery. . .

. . .like a bird's.

_NO!_ Dark Link viciously threw off any stirring of remorse. This was the Hero! This was the reason he was stuck as a measly shadow, unwanted, unloved, alone-

What did the boy just say?

Dark Link leaned closer still, pressing his ear to Link's lips. The boy took a ragged breath, his whisper (and it was little Link, not the Hero's words) so quiet even Hylian ears had trouble hearing him.

"What would Sheik think of you now?"

Dark Link froze for just a moment, but it was enough. Reaching down into that secret place of strength all Heroes hold, Link kicked out at him, driving him away. Dark Zelda reacted, power gathering in her hands to end his life, but she never had a chance to use it.

In that moment dawn finally broke through the lightening sky, Din's fiery sun burning brightly through the gloom, its light searing into the shadowy beings. Tortured screams tore from their throats; Dark Link dropped to the ground with his hands over his head, trying to protect himself, while Dark Zelda flailed and writhed in the air, having forgotten that she was just as vulnerable as he without her Sheikah Shield.

Giving a cry of anger and rage, Dark Zelda blasted her black magic at the fountain in the middle of the square, exploding it in a shower of water and dust that darkened the sky just enough to save them. She leapt for Dark Link, wrapping her arms around him before the dust hid them from view.

Vaati's eyes opened slowly and he forced himself up, wincing in pain as he coughed. Giving a tired wave of his hand he forced the dust to disperse. As expected, the shadows had vanished, and Link lay still where Dark Link had left him.

What was unexpected, however, was the sound of shouts and clanking armor as hostile-looking castle guards moved into formation around them, drawn by the commotion. Neither had the strength to fight them.

"Put your hands up where we can see them, you trouble makers!" Shouted one of the guards, spear aimed in their direction.

Vaati moved to take a protective stance in front of the vulnerable Link, but his legs gave out and he fell to his knees, muscles twitching and body trembling.

"I will not ask you again, boy, hands in the air!" The guards were closing in.

"_**Why not simply turn them to stone? You remember the spell, I know you do." **_

"_I won't! I have another way." _

Vaati began to chuckle.

"I'll put more than that in the air, foolish human!" Reaching for Link he pulled the boy into his arms, his face contorted with effort as he called the winds to surround them and lift them up, up towards safety.

The guard snarled, motioning to his archers. "Wizards! Shoot them down!"

Vaati batted away the first two arrows, but each maneuver caused them to drop another foot or so. One of the guards jumped, grabbing hold of Link's ankle. Link cried out, and though Vaati tried to blast the guard away, he lost his grip and Link plummeted to land on top of the man. More arrows headed his way, and Vaati barely managed to dodge them all.

The guard had a firm hold on Link now, and the child didn't have the strength to fight him.

"Go Vaati! GO! Please!" Link cried out, before the guard smacked him into silence.

"Link, I. . ."

"GO!" Those blue eyes were pleading. Link could not let harm come to him. He was Vio, the most logical of the Links. He would not let Vaati stay if there was a chance he could escape unharmed.

Vaati's eyes lingered on Link, but what could he do in his state? Whirling about, eyes blurred with tears of shame and anger and Gufuu's laughter echoing in his head, he flew towards the outer wall of the castle just as quickly as he could.

The guards shouted in rage, and the next thing Vaati knew was a burning fire in his shoulder before he plummeted towards the moat below. The last thought to cross his mind before he hit the water was that at least if he drowned, Gufuu could not rise to plague this Hero too.

"_**You stupid, stupid boy. . ." **_

* * *

It was a dream, a nightmare. It must have been.

But it wasn't.

That was made abundantly clear to Link when he was woken by a douse of cold water on his aching body. He gasped and coughed, the chains about his neck and wrist clinking when he tried to wipe his face and found he could not. He opened his eyes to look and immediately shut them again, the light from the shadow-disperser above his head searing his retinas painfully.

He heard a grunt and the sound of footsteps walking away, and finally he managed to open his eyes. He was in a small stone room with one wall made up entirely of bars. A cell, then. So he'd been captured, his secret blessing exposed. He hung in the middle of the room, small chains affixed to his ankles, wrists and about his neck, keeping him suspended with his limbs splayed and making breathing more difficult than it already was.

A movement by the door snapped him from his observations. An aristocratic man, dressed in a dark, finely-crafted suit complete with black silk gloves stood before him, a look of disgust on his face, hatred in his dark eyes. He motioned for the guards to leave them, and did not speak until they were alone.

"So, boy, a part of my past has come back to haunt me. No matter." He strode around the suspended boy, his eyes falling on Link's marked left hand. His lips turned up in a snarl. "I will right the mistake I made eight years ago, when I didn't kill you on sight."

Link's brow drew together in confusion, and he turned his head to the side to observe the man. "What. . .what are you talking about?"

The man snorted but did not answer. Instead, he said, "That mark on your hand, do you know what it is, boy?"

Link didn't like this man one bit. "The blessing of the Goddess, Farore."

The man growled and Link's head snapped to the side, momentarily stunned by a blow across his cheek. "It is a_ curse_, boy! A curse that has been damning Hyrule for centuries! The Triforce is not meant to be wielded by human hands! It belongs in the Sacred Realm, the Realm of the Goddesses! Don't you see, boy?" He gripped Link's chin hard, forcing the small prisoner to look at him. "You have angered the Goddesses, trying to keep their power for yourself! The Goddesses will not return to this land until their treasure has been returned! Their magic is dying in this land, boy, dying! And it is _all your fault_!" His eyes were wild, hands gesticulating wildly as he spoke. He heaved for breath, calming slowly. When he spoke again, his tone was measured.

"Each Triforce holder must be properly punished, Wisdom, Courage, and Power in turn. The pieces must be rejoined, and then all will be right again. If history has taught us nothing, it has taught us this." His voice was softer now, though his eyes still held a gleam that Link didn't like. Link's eyes slowly slipped shut.

"You're wrong." Link whispered.

"I beg your pardon, boy?" The man hissed.

"I said you're wrong." Link's head lifted to glare with eyes flecked with violet, dark blue, red and even green, at the man, his voice gaining a new strength. "The Goddesses chose us. The only one who is a threat to Hyrule is the bearer of the Triforce of Power. Wisdom and Courage will fight him, always we will rise to fight and seal him-"

"Don't even give me that _chosen_ nonsense! You stole the Triforce! You stole it, and arranged this whole thing! You awaken the demon so you can seal it and look the part of the Hero! That is the way it has always been, boy! All the old stories say it is so!" He turned to study the wall, as though the tales of Hyrule's past were written upon the stone. Perhaps they had been, once.

His voice fell quiet. "A Goddess's gift cannot be taken from you, not by mortal hands. If you did not steal it from them, nobody would be able to steal it from you!" The man all but ripped off his right glove, shoving his hand in Link's face. Link's eyes grew wide, the other colors bleeding more deeply into his eyes as the Hero within him fought to the surface.

"_Where,_" he breathed, voice hoarse, "Where did you get that? Where is Princess Zelda?"

For on the back of the dark man's hand glowed the stolen Triforce of Wisdom.

The man chuckled, pulling his glove back on. "I wouldn't worry about her, boy. I would worry about yourself. I need your piece still, and Power after that. As I understand it, I will need your blood, and hers, to call forth Power." There was a strange smile on his face when he turned to look at Link again. "Perhaps its best I didn't kill you when you were born. I still need your blood, and there will be plenty of it after your execution tomorrow."

His right hand glowing with a garish golden light, the man stepped forward to grasp Link's left hand.

* * *

I'm not going too heavy on the drama here, am I?

Thank you to the Chapter Twelve reviewers darkwolflink1 (most of those pairings were completely unintentional, I swear! Although. . . this chapter seems to have just contributed even MORE to at least one of those and possibly suggested another. . . oh. . . bugger. I haven't quite decided how old Vaati is meant to be. He's been around for ages, but spent most of that time shut up in seals, so I don't think it counts. . .), Sergeant Dreamer (*Hides so I don't get killed for hurting Vaati*), FourSwordsAddict, Kick-Aft, and Claradwor (Hey a new reviewer! Hi! Glad you could join us!).


	14. Defying Gravity,  Well, Sometimes

Here I go again, writing instead of studying. And this is a long one, too.

Chapter Fourteen

* * *

_Dark Link, well, Shadow Link, as he'd been calling himself lately, strolled leisurely down the halls of the Wind Palace. It was just a few hours past midnight, blissfully dark and quiet. His pet was unconscious again, and with the Links currently in hiding to recover from the thrashing he'd given them the day before, Shadow Link was bored. _

_The heels of his black boots clicked on the marble floor as he moved deeper into the recesses of the palace. He couldn't recall having been in this particular area before; there were no windows and few doors, the walls were bare and unadorned, and no Moblin guards stood anywhere in sight. Odd. _

_Rounding a corner, Shadow Link paused. Was that. . .crying? Shadow Link cackled and a look of glee crossed his face and his steps sped up as he hurried to find the source. Crying meant someone was in pain, and he always found pain entertaining. Had he wandered into a sort of secondary dungeon, perhaps?_

_Shadow Link paused outside of one of the identical doors, pressing his ear to the smooth wood. Sure enough, the quiet sobs came from within. Pushing lightly on the door, Shadow Link was almost surprised to to find it unlocked, but he didn't question his luck. He slipped inside and closed the door behind him, looking around eagerly for the source of the noise. _

_The room was dark and bare, empty except for a hard wooden chair in the center of the room. A small figure sat slumped in it, holding his head in one hand. His lavender hair fell to hide his features as his shoulders shook with the force of his sobs. _

_Shadow Link grinned gleefully. "Hey, why ya cryin'?" He called loudly, laughing when the boy jumped. He didn't get far; the dark, glowing manacles around his wrists held him fast to his seat. _

"_W-Who's there?" He stammered, looking up in fright. His face looked pale and drawn, misery etched on his face. He looked. . . delicious. _

_Shadow Link's chuckle rang out as he stepped closer, the figure's eyes growing wide. "Dark Link. . ." He breathed. _

_Shadow Link vanished, reappearing only inches from the jumpy boy's face, drawing a gasp from his pale purple lips. "So you've heard of me. I'm flattered." He cocked his head to the side, regarding the boy. "But I don't know you. What's your name?" _

_The boy stammered, fear causing his heart to race as he leaned back, away from Shadow Link. "I-I. . .Vaati. My name is Vaati." _

_Shadow Link only grinned at the other's discomfort. "Vaati, Vaati. Such a pretty name. You don't seem to like having me so close to you, _mon petit chou-chou_. Are you. . ." Here he leaned closer, placing his hands on the back of Vaati's chair. ". . . frightened of me? Someone's pet perhaps, worried what your Master would say?" _

_Well, that drew a response. _

_Vaati's red eyes flared with anger, desperate denial and despair as he tried to lash out- failing of course, the manacles saw to that- at Shadow Link, snarling angrily. "I am no one's pet!" _

_Shadow Link laughed as he pulled back, floating up to lay casually on his stomach above Vaati's head. The boy watched him, a curious longing in his eyes as his anger fizzled out. _

"_A prisoner then." Shadow Link mused. "How fun. I wonder why you're kept up here?" He flipped over to lay on his back, looking at Vaati upside down. _

_Vaati's head bowed once more, his shoulders slumping forward. Shadow Link frowned, landing on his feet. Wall, that wasn't any fun! _

_Shadow Link stalked forward, peering down at the lavender head in irritation. "Did you do something stupid?" He asked, pushing Vaati's hair back so he could see his face. _

_Vaati kept his eyes averted, shame and sadness reflected in them. ". . .Yes. I did something very, very stupid." _

_Shadow Link knelt beside him to better see his face. "What did you do?" he asked. _

_Vaati's mouth opened, then closed again. He shifted and looked away before bringing his eyes back to Shadow Link. "I. . ." He closed his mouth and lifted his gaze to the ceiling, staring fixedly at something Shadow Link did not see. _

_Shadow Link huffed, growing impatient. "Well?" _

_Distantly, the clock started to chime. Vaati's eyes grew wide and he sucked in a breath before turning panicked eyes to Shadow Link. "Go." He breathed. _

_Shadow Link stared down at him, his irritation turning to confusion. "What?" _

"_GO!" Vaati shouted. "He's coming and he mustn't find you here! Go! GO!" _

_Shadow Link backed up quickly. "Who?" He tried to ask, but Vaati was trembling, fighting the force that was trying to reclaim him. _

"_Go!" _

_Shadow Link ran. _

* * *

Vaati's eyes flew open and he let out a scream, muffled by the fabric-wrapped stick shoved sideways in his mouth. He lay on his side, numerous cold, scaly hands holding him in place as he writhed and gasped for breath, delirious from the pain.

"Hold him!" A sharp voice commanded. A crack resounded somewhere behind him, jarring _something_ lodged in his body. There was a terrible sucking noise, and burning, searing pain in his shoulder before hands clamped down over the wound, trying to staunch the flow of bright red blood staining the lavender of his clothing.

"Get him up, the potion, quickly, before he bleeds out!" That same authoritative voice snapped, but Vaati's consciousness was lost again.

* * *

"_Here." Someone pressed a cup to his lips, and cool water flowed into his mouth. A hand massaged his throat, encouraging him to swallow. A soft groan escaped his lips, the liquid like a soothing caress from within. A soft chuckle made him open his eyes, his red gaze meeting amused ruby. _

"_You look like hell. Your Master must not feed you very well." Stated Shadow Link plainly, reaching for a bowl at his side. _

_Vaati seemed to wake a little more at that. "I am not-" _

"_Yeah, yeah, not a pet. Yes, I know." Shadow Link brought a spoon to Vaati's lips. The stew smelled heavenly, but Vaati was wary of poisons, futile though his worry was. He could not recall the last time food had passed his lips. Gufuu usually took care of such things himself._

"_Eat." Shadow Link urged. "I'm beginning to wonder if all pets are stubborn. Don't know what's good for you; it's why you're a pet, so someone can take care of you." He nodded, as though reassuring himself more than Vaati. _

_Vaati opened his mouth hesitantly, allowing Shadow Link to give him the first spoonful. It was wonderful; a mix of savory spiced, thick gravy-like broth and bits of vegetable, perfectly cooked. His eyes drifted shut as another pleased moan escaped. _

_Shadow Link chuckled, amused by the display. "There, see? Pretty good isn't it?" His expression turned thoughtful as he gave Vaati another spoonful. "Perhaps I should introduce you to my pet. He's a Sheikah, you know. Well, sort of." _

_Vaati almost choked on his stew at that piece of news. Sheikah? Yes, he remembered them, a subset of the Hylian Knights, if he remembered correctly. During his time with the magical cap (and all that was his own doing, he was sorry to say. He'd been lucky, so very lucky the Hero had forgiven him. Then Gufuu had to go and ruin it. . .) many were turned to stone when they tried to rescue the princess from him. They were good; better than good. He'd never seen fighters like them before or since. They had come close to defeating his magic many times, very close, even without the Picori blade. Master Ezlo had said he'd honored them with a gift before he left, but he hadn't told Vaati what it was. _

_Funny, now that he thought about it. Gufuu hadn't complained about them even once, and Vaati couldn't recall seeing one through Gufuu's eyes. What had become of them? _

_Shadow Link poked his lips with the spoon, tired of being ignored. "What? You alright?" _

"_Yes, yes I'm fine." Said Vaati, opening his mouth for another bite. "I can feed myself, you know." He waved his right hand, as though to show he had at least enough freedom of movement to do that. _

_Shadow Link laughed. "Too bad, because I want to do it. Now open your mouth and sit still!" _

_A few more bites and Vaati realized with a pang that the delicious stew was gone. Shadow Link set the empty bowl aside and regarded him, resting his chin on steepled fingers as he floated in midair. Vaati watched his posture enviously. To be supported by nothing but the beautiful wind itself. . . _

"_So what are you, anyway?" The childlike voice broke the silence. _

_Vaati jumped. "P-pardon?" _

_Shadow Link shifted so that he lay on his front, still floating in the air. "Well, why are you here, if you're not a pet? Who do you belong to? Whose prisoner are you?" _

_Vaati's head bowed, lavender hair hiding his face. ". . .I think you should go." _

_Shadow Link frowned, reaching out to cup Vaati's chin in a perverse imitation of a lover's gentle touch. "Are you going to cry for me?" He asked with a twisted grin. "You're lovely when you cry."_

_Vaati batted his hand away, and Shadow Link laughed. _

* * *

Hands pulled him up into a sitting position and one tugged the gag from his mouth, another pressing smooth glass to his lips. The taste was vile and made him want to wretch, but the hands were insistent, unyielding until he'd drunk it all.

Well, he thought dully, at least if it was poison he was already half-dead anyway, judging by the way he felt.

But no, even as the thought crossed his mind he felt himself revive. The wound in his shoulder stitched itself together, and some of his strength returned to him. His vision cleared, and most of the hands released him, the sound of quick footsteps indicating that one of them had run off somewhere.

"There we are boy." The same voice spoke, "how do you feel?" The owner was an older Zora, who lacked the military accoutrements of those around him.

Vaati broke into another coughing fit, and the healer nodded as though this were all the answer he needed. "You," he said, pointing to one of the younger members of the party, "return to the Domain and go to the Shopkeeper. Tell him I need a vial of green potion, blue if he has it. Red alone won't do here."

The boy looked quizzical, but didn't question, running off to do as he was bid.

"_**Heh heh heh. The old Zora can see it, brat."**_ Came the amused voice of Gufuu in his ear.

Vaati shuddered at the dark tone, dropping his eyes from the Zora watching him._ "See what?"_

Full-out laughter rang in his ears. _**"You'll figure it out, soon enough." **_

A commotion near the water drew Vaati's attention from the demon in his head. A new Zora stood by the shore of the river, frantically waving a sheet of parchment in his hand. The Zora near him stood up to look, shocked gasps and murmurs traveling through the crowd.

"Elder." The new Zora drew near to them, holding the parchment out for inspection. The healer took it, his eyes filling with sadness as he read the words.

"Poor Link." The old one murmured. "Poor boy."

Cringing at the pain in his shoulder, Vaati reached out to touch the elder Zora's hand. "Please," he rasped. The Zora regarded him for a moment, then offered the parchment to him. There on the front was a pictograph of little Link, his skin marred by bruises. Someone off-pictogragh held his head still for the image, but his eyes were squeezed shut, likely in an attempt to protect his sensitive eyes. Guilt twisted like a snake in Vaati's stomach.

_By Order of the King_

_At dawn tomorrow this Cursed Triforce Child will be publicly executed. _

_All citizens are welcome to see this blight upon our beautiful land shot dead. _

Angry shouts near the shore broke through his thoughts. Two Zora stood mere inches apart, gesticulating wildly, their faces rapidly turning purple with their rage.

"My Prince, you cannot expect me to risk my men in a suicidal rescue mission against the Crown itself, just to save one little boy?" Barked a large Zora, a battle-hardened warrior. The small Zora he was arguing with shook furiously.

"That _one little boy_ bears the mark of the Hero, one Hyrule will soon need! That _one little boy _is my brother in all but blood, one of us in every way that matters! I would not leave any of my people to die, and that includes him!" Prince Ralis had lost all composure, pulling at his head-fins in frustration. This was worse than the time he found Link's village attacked and the boy gone. Then, there had been hope. This time there was proof of the danger, and knowledge that he, himself, had allowed it to happen. "That_ one little boy_ has done _nothing _to deserve this!"

The General, for that's what the large Zora was, gestured irately at the small contingent surrounding them at the mouth of the river, those that had gathered to wait for word from the Hero and his shadow. "I will not risk my men. They would be shot dead in a second, and us all declared traitors to the oaths our ancestors swore! Prince or not, I won't do it! He knew the risks when he went in!"

Vaati barely noticed the return of the young Zora sent off to fetch his potion. He barely noticed the blue-filled bottle pressed into his hands, or the gentle, guiding touch that brought it to his lips, or the foul flavor on his tongue. He did notice when some of his strength returned, and he stood to make his way to the dueling pair, bottle still clasped in his left hand.

Calmly he raised his right hand, and flicked his wrist. A blast of wind shot between the Prince and his General, sending them sprawling almost comically onto their fins.

"I will go."

* * *

Two guards led the boy past a screaming crowd of Hylians and humans to his death in the courtyard of the castle. His wrists were bound together, the rope running up to his neck where it formed a sort of slipknot. If he struggled, he'd choke himself. But, looking down at the state of the small form, the King rather thought there was little chance of that, cursed child or not.

The boy in the violet tunic walked with a heavy limp, favoring his right side. Someone threw something at him, the King couldn't see what. The boy ducked instinctively, the movement slowing his progress. His escorts noticed; the one behind kicked him hard in the back, sending him tumbling to the ground as more items pelted him. He gasped and choked for breath as the same guard gave the rope a vicious yank, tugging his neck back so fast the King feared it would break prematurely.

Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule the XXII, King of Hyrule, turned to his High Mage, who stood at his side. "Such a shame, Cornelius, my friend. First, my own daughter, now a young boy. A right shame."

Cornelius turned his dark eyes to the King. "This one was sighted in the palace, you recall, your Majesty. Undoubtedly he was looking for the Stealer of the Triforce of Wisdom, so that they might together raise the Stealer of Power and bring chaos to Hyrule."

The King gave a heavy sigh, removing his crown to pat his forehead with an embroidered handkerchief. "Even so, it is difficult to watch, but I suppose we all must suffer for the good of Hyrule. Cornelius, wouldn't your son be his age, if he and your wife had survived labor those years ago?"

Cornelius's back stiffened at the mention of it, but the King didn't notice. "Yes," he answered shortly. "I suppose he would. If you'll excuse me, sire, I had best oversee the execution."

"Of course," Said the King heavily, eyes drawn to the boy who now being forced to stand against a wooden pole set in the blazing sun. His two guards held him tightly in their bruising grips while others unbound his wrists from in front of him, retying them behind his back around the pole. Another tied a rope around his neck, intending to strangle him if the arrows didn't end him instantly. One of them tore open his tunic to give the archers a clear shot. The unnaturally pale skin was a mass of welts and bruises, proof of his jailers' efforts to beat a confession from him.

When the prisoner was secured, Cornelius moved to stand to the side of the archers, scroll held high. The guards flanking him raised their arms, and the crowds fell silent.

"By order of Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule the XXII, this, the Stealer of Courage, shall be sentenced to death on this day. On my word, the archers will release their arrows, and the thief will be shot until dead." So saying, he rolled up the scroll and handed it to a waiting apprentice before turning to the archers. "Arches, take positions!"

"Monsters! Monsters, the lot of you! He's only a child" A sobbing shout rose from the crowd, an old woman near to tears. Her family pulled her back and out of the crowd, away before the guards became angry.

Her cries, however, were enough to stir the consciences of the archers. Not one raised his bow.

The crowd shouted angrily, and Cornelius scowled. "What's wrong with the lot of you? Take position! Do you want to doom Hyrule?" He demanded. The ten men selected looked at each other. Most of them had children of their own. Two dropped their bows to the ground, and at their lead the others followed.

Cornelius snarled. Clearly, the archers were made of lesser stuff than those who guarded the prisoners in the dungeons. His fine silk cloak billowed about him as he stalked forward, knocking the man aside. He fetched the bow from the ground, and motioned the archers back. "Cowards! Very well, then. I shall see to the unpleasant business myself." Cornelius notched an arrow, and lifted the bow to aim at the cursed child's heart.

Until this time, Link's eyes had remained closed. He was still unused to the bright sunlight, and it seared his eyes painfully. At the sound of the string being pulled, however, he opened those blue eyes, and lifted his chin to face his executioner.

_Those eyes. Her eyes. Medilia._

Cornelius faltered, then his eyes hardened. He would still have her, if it weren't for this boy. His fingers opened, and he let the arrow fly.

Fwump.

Cornelius blinked in shock, then flushed in embarrassment. The arrow had flown high as though caught in a sudden breeze, hitting the pole well above the boy's head. He notched a second arrow.

The wind blew more strongly this time, and the arrow did something arrows shouldn't do. It curved to the right and flew high, narrowly missing the King's long, pointed ear. "Corelius!" Shouted the King, ducking quickly.

Angry and frustrated, and perhaps not thinking as clearly as he ought, Cornelius began to chant. He summoned between his hands a long, thin rod of glowing magic. This he shot at the boy, sure to pierce his heart and end his life.

An unnatural tornado-like wind suddenly picked up in front of Link, dispersing the magic harmlessly. Screams broke out across the courtyard, most of the citizens and several soldiers taking off in a frightened dash.

Laughter echoed across the space as the tornado dispersed to reveal a grinning red-eyed demon cloaked in lavender. Guards hurried the King to safety while Cornelius took a fighting stance.

"I don't know who you are, demon, but you will not interfere!" Cornelius shouted, beginning one of his spells.

"Demon?" Vaati chuckled. "I am not the sick man pointing a bow at a defenseless child." He'd done awful things in his time, but never, never would he ever. . .

"**You've tried to kill him before, too, hypocrite." **Said the voice in his head.

"_Never this young! Shut up!" _

Cornelius's expression twisted with rage, that mad glint returning again to his eyes. "I will purge Hyrule however it must be done!" Another bolt of glowing energy shot at the distracted Vaati. The pure, burning energy grazed his skin before with a swipe of his arm and a gust of wind, he knocked it aside. It hit a nearby statue of the King, blowing it to smithereens.

Acting quickly in the resulting confusion, Vaati hurried to Link, directing wind as sharp as a knife to cut the bonds that held him. His support suddenly gone, Link fell forward, Vaati catching him in waiting arms. Vaati draped Link's arms about him and wrapped one of his hand's about Link's waist before summoning the wind to him, feeling it whip about his face as it lifted them higher and higher, repelling spears and arrows and drowning out the shouts below. Too bad it couldn't drown out the caustic voice in his head.

"**You should leave him to die. One less pest for me to exterminate later." **

Vaati ignored Gufuu, too focused on their transport to acknowledge him. High above the castle they vanished, Vaati keeping their destination firmly fixed in his mind. After what seemed to him agonizing magic-draining hours, the tempest around them slowed and dropped to a quiet breeze, depositing them both in the throne room of Zora's Domain.

Vaati's knees buckled, and as he pitched forward in exhaustion yet again, it occurred to him that even out of practice as he was, such magic as that should not drain him so completely, especially when bolstered by a blue potion.

In his head, Gufuu laughed.

* * *

Yeah...This is one of those chapters where I go back to edit it and have to wonder, what the heck is wrong with me? This is the longest chapter yet, almost 4,000 words. This was a pretty heavy chapter, so I hope you all click that button down there and leave me a review to let me know what you think, even if it's just to tell me I'm messed up in the head.

Thank you to the Chapter thirteen reviewers:

**segment thought:** You're just messing with my head now. :P Lots of Vaati for you in this Chapter, and Dark Link being a crazy creeper at him. And then there's Gufuu, who obviously knows something Vaati doesn't. I love drama, can you tell? So. . . have you figured how who the crazy guy was yet?

**Claradwor: W**elcome back! As you may have noticed, I'm a terrible person and am having way too much tormenting everyone.

**Kick-Aft: **We don't know what happened to Zelda. Seriously, I haven't completely decided yet. All we know for sure is she no longer has the Triforce, but her father knows she had it. Is Sheik fighting back? Well, he's sort of gone right now. Must Power always be evil? Or is that just Ganondorf's influence? I love the questions, just be prepared for me to shoot them right back at you and see if I can get you to say what you're thinking about the answers. And thank you! Overdone description drives me bonkers, so I try to avoid it.

**Darkwolflink1**: Congratulations, your name now appears on my autofill when I'm typing the responses out. Lol. I haven't quite decided how to explain how he's aged. He's not a kid, he's just really small, but he's not physically very old either, since the sheer amount of magic he's been steeped in has kept him from aging normally for centuries. Or, that's my explanation for my reality-bending fun.

**Demonologist666**: New reviewer! Hi! Interesting thought, but no. Try again! Although, if I back myself into a really bad corner, Fierce Deity would be a good deus ex machina device.


	15. Spirits of the Hero

Chapter Fifteen

* * *

The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the underground cave they had taken shelter in for the day. Dark Link's head snapped to the side, but he didn't raise his hand to sooth his stinging cheek. Dark Zelda was furious.

"What do you mean, you couldn't find him?" She hissed.

"Exactly what I said." He replied, his voice icy, dead. "After we left them Link must have passed out. The Hero went back to sleep, and hasn't woken since. I can't track him when the Hero sleeps. I don't know where he is." A sadistic smirk tugged at his lips as memories floated to the surface. "I checked his hometown already. He isn't there. . .although, neither is anyone else, by now." Oh yes, he'd taken out his revenge on that pathetic little village, now that. . ._he_. . . wasn't there to stop him. No one harmed his light; no, revenge belonged to him and him alone.

Another blow, this one harder, knocked him to the floor of the cave. He landed on his side in a small puddle of water, but he didn't move to stand from it, bowing his head instead to hide his face.

"Don't toy with me, you ungrateful little urchin!" She spat, grabbing his chin in a bruising grip and forcing him to look at her. "Tell me, Darkling, who was it that pulled you from the lesser shadows? Who taught you to think?"

"You." The amusement was gone, now.

"Who brought you to the Lord Ganondorf? Who made you strong?" Her nails dug into his flesh, drawing wisps of shadows forth, but he didn't flinch.

"You."

"And who _loves_ you?" She asked. The words rolled from her tongue like poison, honey-sweet but with an undertone of malice that didn't belong. He must have hesitated too long, because her face twisted into an ugly scowl and she shoved him back into the pond. She planted her high-heeled boot on his chest to hold him there, though he did not try to fight her. He wouldn't dare.

"I will tell you who, Darkling. It is I who loves you. It is I who takes care of you, useless shadow that you are. Who else would keep the likes of you?" She crooned, pressing the heel of her dainty-looking boot harder into his flesh.

A whisper passed his lips, quiet, but she heard him still. "Sheik. . ."

She screamed her fury at the response, removing her foot only to throw her right arm out to send dark bolts of electricity coursing through his body. His muscles spasmed, and her left hand joined her right, finally drawing a pained scream, though he cut it off quickly, clamping his mouth shut.

His body lay twitching in the water as she reached out to seize the front of his tunic, pulling his face close to hers. "Sheik does not exist." She growled. "Sheik _never _existed. It was the result of a spell cast upon me a thousand years ago, nothing more." She threw him back into the water, and in an instant a dirk was at his throat. His heart twisted; it belonged to Sheik. "Say it."

What else could he do? "Sheik does not exist."

A thousand years meant nothing to a shadow.

* * *

Link's eyes opened to a beautiful, brilliant sunset. The air around him smelled woody and sweet, as he imagined a forest might. Running his hands over the soft, green grass that cushioned him comfortably, the ever logical little Vio wondered where he could possibly be. Had the arrow struck true?

"Blue! Blue, look, he's awake!" A child-like voice called from somewhere nearby. Link sat up to look for the source of the voice, only to be tackled back down by a red blur. "We were worried about you, Vio!" The muffled voice spoke from where it was buried in his chest, its owner thrown across his body.

Vio's first instinct was to tense and shove the boy off, but something told him he was in no danger here. He patted the boy's back soothingly, feeling a small smile tug at his lips. "I'm all right. . . Red."

An irritated growl sounded behind them and Red yelped as he was jerked away from Vio by the scruff of his neck. "Bluuuue!" He whined as the scowling blue-clad doppelganger set him back on his feet. Red and Blue looked so much like himself, Vio thought, though older, in their teens perhaps, and still somehow different from each other and from him. Red was smiling, small and slight while Blue was scowling, taller, and stronger.

"Well, don't maul him then!" Blue snapped, smacking Red upside the head. Red's red-flecked blue eyes welled with tears, and Vio heaved a sigh as though he dealt with this every day.

"Blue, knock it off. We don't have time for this." Came a fourth voice.

"Oh?" Sneered Blue, hands on his hips in his cocky way, "The Hero of Time doesn't have time? Who'd have guessed!"

The fourth Link stepped from behind a tree. He was garbed in Kokiri green, and wore the Master Sword and Hylian shield strapped to his back. He looked older than the others, and yet timeless, somehow. Green frowned at Blue, but chose not to rise to his bait. Instead, he sat down across from Vio, regarding him carefully.

"I'm sorry." He said finally. "This is difficult to explain, but you've always been the smartest, so I'll come right out and tell you." His eyes were kind and warm, and yet they carried a heavy sadness.

"Sheik told you the stories, and you've read the legends. Before the Hero of Time there were other villains, other Heroes, other tales. But with me. . . everything changed. No demon or dark wizard had ever managed to reach Triforce, not before Ganondorf, and not before I let him. We were only children then, the Princess and I. We thought we knew what was best, and look what happened." Red stepped up behind Green, wrapping his arms around him comfortingly. Green laid a hand over Red's, smiling his thanks.

"I was sent back in time to right the mistake, but it couldn't be fixed entirely. Ganondorf was sealed for a time, but he took his piece of the Triforce with him, as I kept mine, and Princess Zelda kept hers. Not long afterward, I left Hyrule. I told everyone I sought Navi, my fairy companion, but that was only half the truth. I didn't believe that Sheik was only a lie. I. . ." His eyes moved to the horizon, to the sunset they'd chosen for this meeting place.

"I loved him dearly, and I could not accept that he didn't exist. I looked everywhere for him; Termina, Holodrum, Calatia. But all these places were reached by the Lost Woods. The woods. . . are treacherous for those who cannot See, for those without a fairy to guide them." Green had a faraway look in his eyes, a reflection of this centuries-old pain of one who could not accept. He'd seen it in Shadow's eyes the moment reality hit him, when he realized his precious Sheikah was gone.

"The woods take their toll for your passage. They took Red from me first, and Blue followed. They took you from me too, so that by the time I arrived in the human village of Ordon, I had little left to give." As he spoke, the scenes around them changed, placing the four Links for a moment in a world long past. People, places appeared and vanished, their details still sharp despite the years. "I sang my house from the forest in the Kokiri way, and there I lived the rest of my mortal life as simply Link, husband to the ranch-hand's daughter. I contacted Hyrule only once."

The forested meadow returned, and Green stood to pace, Red releasing his comforting hold. "When I first passed into the Sacred Realm, the Goddesses spoke to me. Ganondorf was sealed but not dead, so long as he held the Triforce of Power he could never die. Blessed Nayru and Sacred Farore thus granted their chosen immortality of a different kind. There would always be a Link, always a Zelda ready to fight him again."

"But our soul was already split." Chimed in Red.

"Yes." Green said, looking between the other three. "Our soul was already split by the Lost Woods' toll. It was decided that we should remain this way, because our different personalities could be useful in different situations. Blue's wildness and Red's innocence together, for example, were best equipped to handle the Twilight Princess, Midna. You and I, Vio, best handled the label of traitor, the Dark World time needed to complete our particular quest, and later, deciphering the ancient texts we needed to escape from a Dream Island."

A thoughtful look crossed Vio's face. "That's why Shadow said he couldn't find me, isn't it? Why he couldn't find me. . .before. . .because I'm only a fourth of his light. I'm not strong enough alone." Oh yes, he remembered the night Dark Link and Sheik found him in the snow. He didn't remember much else, but bits of his life had slowly been returning to him ever since he met Ralis.

Green's eyes filled with sorrow, and he pulled Vio to him in a gentle embrace. "I am sorry about what happened to you. Truly I am. But yes, we woke that night to allow you to call out to him. He would not have found you, otherwise."

"Thank you, for that. You gave me something very dear when you placed me in their care." Vio said, returning the embrace before releasing Green.

"But that brings me to the reason I brought you here, Vio." Green said, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "Ordinarily, when a Link must become a Hero, we all awaken, that his soul might become balanced enough wield the sacred blade, the Master Sword. But. . ."

"You're a pipsqueak." Cackled Blue.

"Blue!" Red protested, attempting to glare at him and failing miserably at it.

"Well, yes. You are too young, and our souls are tired. Sheik told you about the Links just before you, I trust? Red and I went first, then Blue and I before you, all in the span of about three years. Our soul exists in pieces, and thus it is sensitive to these things; we cannot be reborn so close together." Green's determined gaze met Vio's, but through it Vio could see that Green was concerned for him.

"We've tried to help you before, and we nearly killed you. We cannot help you again. Especially not now, with most of Sheik's protections destroyed. You cannot become the Hero in time to fight. You will have to find another way. Do you understand?" Green's voice implored him. This was killing the other Link, Vio could see it. He wanted nothing more than to take control, to fight Dark Link and defeat him as he had all those years ago in the Time That Never Was. But he knew he could not. This was not the Hero's time.

Red began to fidget. "We're running out of time, Green!"

"I understand." Said Vio.

"Good. There's a reason, Vio, that I chose to send you alone this time, once I realized what would be." His smile was strange, as though he was recalling something he wasn't quite sure he liked, but he knew could not be helped. "None of us could get so close to the shadows, to our own shadow, without being destroyed. Only you can do it, Vio."

Green saw that Vio's eyelids were growing heavy. Green gently pushed the boy to lay down, reaching into the pouch at his side to withdraw a blue ocarina. He lifted it to his lips, letting the haunting Nocturne of Shadow ring through the air. Red withdrew the Fairy Ocarina, the high notes blending in a perfect harmony.

Green paused as Red played on. "One more thing. If you get a chance, tell Dark Link that if he doesn't learn to care for his lover properly soon, I'll take care of _him _next time we meet."

Vio's brows drew together in confusion, and he tried to force himself awake again. "But, Shadow. . His lover. . . where do I find him?"

Red lowered his ocarina from his lips with a giggle. "Silly Vio. Where else do shadows lie in the land of the light?"

As Vio lost his battle and faded back to the world of the waking, Red and Green began to play again. He gave Blue a pleading look, but Blue stubbornly crossed his arms and looked away.

"Blu~ue!"

"No, dammit!"

* * *

Scaly webbed fingers ran gently through soft, blond hair. Green eyes looked fondly on a child's sleeping face. "It's hard, you know." Despite meeting Vaati only days prior, Ralis found him easy to converse with. He had a quiet air about him, the aura of one with far too much time to think upon his past.

"What is?" Asked the wind mage softly.

Ralis sighed, laying the back of his hand upon Link's head for a moment before withdrawing it and turning to face him. "Letting him go. I berate myself for it every time something happens, but I know I can't stop him. I couldn't stop him from leaving here with that shadow creature, even though every instinct in me was screaming to keep him here, keep him safe."

Vaati smiled a gentle smile. "Link was raised by the last of the Sheikah. The Sheikah put the safety of the Hylian royal family, especially the princess, above all else. Nothing could have stopped him from seeking her out."

Ralis' eyes dropped back to Link. Three days, and still the child had not awoken. "Knowing it doesn't stop the guilt."

"You're right." Said Vaati, lifting one of his now ever-present bottles of blue potion. "It doesn't."

"It wasn't your fault Vaati." Ralis jumped, quickly withdrawing his hand from Link's head. Link lay back in the bed, regarding them quietly for a few moments. He looked so small and pale, but it was his eyes that struck them the most. The intelligent blues were shadowed now, jaded in a way that only Vio's could be.

The Healer appeared at the doorway (Vaati swore that Zora had a magical sensor on the room) and bid the prince to stand aside while he examined his youngest patient. A look of consternation crossed his face, but as to what caused it he wouldn't say. He produced a bottle of red potion, urging Vio to drink and then to rest. Vio laid back on the pillow obediently, and the Healer left with the promise to return to check on him soon. Vio was silent through most of the visit, a faraway, thoughtful look on his face. Neither Vaati nor Ralis spoke.

"Where do shadows lie in the land of the light?"

Ralis blinked. "Pardon?"

Vio turned on his side to face them. "I had a. . . conversation with the other spirits of the Hero. They told me I would find. . .something, I can't recall what. . . in the place where shadows lie in the land of the light." Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting position, brushing his blond bangs from his face. "Something that would help Shadow, I think."

"A conversation with the? . . Link, little Vio, do you really think that's wise? Look at you, look at what that creature did!" Ralis protested, imploring him to reconsider. Vio shook his head.

"It wasn't his fault. There was a spell on him to cleanse the negativity that channeled to him from the Hero. I recognized it. Dark Zelda broke it, and that's what unhinged him." Vaati shifted to better look at Vio, taking another sip of his potion with a wince.

"How do you know that's what it did?" Ralis asked.

Vaati gave a strange little smile, but answered the question with one of his own. "Link, you never asked why you found me where you did, sealed in that ball of light."

"I recognized the similarities between your spell and Shadow's. I didn't have to ask. Your spell was less well-formed, more primitive, but the goal was the same. Purifying evil from you." Vio said. He did not admit that he had, at first, hoped he had found Sheik. No, that was far too painful. Sheik was gone. "In answer to your question, Ralis, it's difficult to explain. The details are fuzzy already. But I know what he told me. I need to find the place where shadows lie in the land of the light."

"Was he referring to your shadow, perhaps?" Ralis suggested after a moment.

Vio shook his head. "No. I don't cast a shadow. Look." So saying, he stood from the bed unsteadily. Ralis rushed to aid him, but when he looked, he saw that Vio was right. Ralis could clearly see his own shadow outlined by the torchlight, but Link's was gone, doubtless out causing chaos in the countryside. "It has to mean something more than that. Where do shadows lie in the land of the light?"

Ralis laid him gently back down on the bed. If he noticed Vaati flinch, he didn't mention it. "Somewhere there is plenty of light? Shadows appear where light casts them. . ."

"No." Vio answered immediately. "Shadows hate the light. It burns them; it can kill them. Shadows lie, shadows lie. It could have so many meanings. Where shadows sleep, where they wait for light to pass. Somewhere underground, maybe?"

"Well, there are many old underground caves in Hyrule. . ." Ralis began uncertainly.

Vio's eyes widened and he nearly shot up in his bed again. "Underground! What's the largest underground cavern? The Shadow Temple underneath Old Kakariko, of course!" Vio fell back, smiling to himself. "It was meant to have many meanings, because all of them are true. 'The infinite darkness that swallows even time.' That places contains many illusions created from shadows, but it is also the final resting place for the Sheikah, Shadows of the Royal Family! Where shadows lie!"

"Shadow Temple?" Neither Ralis nor Vaati seemed familiar with it.

"Yes. It's one of the secrets of the Sheikah. One of Sheik's books described it to me, and Sheik taught me a bit about it too. The key to helping Shadow is there, I'm sure of it." There was excitement, life in his eyes. They could almost see the gears in his head whirling, as he planned a way to reach the ancient temple.

Ralis looked like he was debating something, but finally he moved to take Vio's left hand in his, covering the scarred skin with both of his webbed hands. "Then as soon as you are better, and not a moment sooner, we will go to the Shadow Temple."

Vio looked up at him in surprise. "Ralis. . ." The Prince smiled at him.

"Little brother, I cannot stop you from going, but you didn't honestly think I would let you go alone again, did you?" Vio blushed and looked away.

"I'm coming too. Shadow is my friend as well. I will do what I can to save him." Vaati set his empty bottle aside, ignoring the laughter ringing in his mind.

"Then it is decided. As soon as the Healer gives you clearance, we will go. Rest now, Vio. I will prepare for our departure." Ralis bent to press his lips to Vio's forehead in a gentle kiss, then hurried from the room to do as he'd said.

Vio lifted the ocarina to his lips. He didn't want to risk the others. Green had said he would find a way, not that others needed to help him. He positioned his fingers-

-and a gust of wind ripped the ocarina from his hands, carrying it to the Wind Mage, who promptly pocketed it. Vio frowned at him, displeased. "Give it back."

"I will." Vaati assured him with a knowing smirk. "As soon as your health is cleared. Once he comes back to his senses, Shadow would have my head if I let you run off as you are."

"That was underhanded."

"So was that. Go to sleep, Link."

"Vio. Call me Vio."

A spark of understanding lit Vaati's eyes. Vio, the most precious Link to Shadow. "As you wish, Vio. Now, go to sleep."

Seeing nothing else for it, Vio obediently lay back. It didn't take him long to return to sleep.

"**Smart little thing, isn't he? Promising magic. Looks like an excellent new host. . ." **

A snarl left Vaati's lips. _ "I'll not let you touch him!" _

"**Heh heh heh. You won't have a choice once I kill you, boy. You won't have a choice."**

* * *

At least 50 of you read the last chapter, and only two of you left reviews? I feel so unloved. D: Please feed the author? I especially like your theories because they let me know if I'm leading you where I want to lead you or completely screwing it up.

But at least two of you still love me! (Although I have a feeling you both want to kill me now *hides*).

So, thank you to the two reviewers from last chapter

**Darkwolflink1**: Ralis has said something ot that effect before. I've been trying to make it clear that Vio and Ralis were very close before Vio lost his memories, but I guess I'm not doing a very good job. I can't just up and tell you what I'm doing with Sheik. The ambiguity and driving everyone nuts with it is half my fun. I did as you suggested with Requiem for a dream by the way and OMG it did fit! O.O Seriously, keep telling me when you find songs that fit. They inspire me.

**Claradwor**: I think Vaati needs lots of hugs right now. And thank you for the hilarious mental image of Gufuu mobbed by angry fangirls. They're rabid and scary. I try not to cross them. . . *Totally just did and is hiding now*


	16. Not Every Spell Has Broken

Chapter Sixteen

* * *

"Hiya!" Vio brought the stick down sharply, one foot in front of the other for balance as he'd been taught. He swung the makeshift sword to the side, his body following the momentum as he cut down imaginary enemies left and right. Dashing forward with the stick held out to the side, he leapt from a rock, swinging the stick above his head and down in front of him, landing on one knee with the "blade" a scant inch from the ground.

"You've become quite skilled in the last year, little Vio." Vio stood and set the end of the stick on the ground, turning to see Ralis watching him practice in the fading light of sunset from one of the many exits of the domain. There was a strange look in his eyes, sadness, perhaps, but Vio couldn't be sure.

"It's been two weeks since I practiced last, and I've spent most of that time recuperating after rather thorough defeats." Vio moved into position again, more fluid than any Hylian child had a right to be. His eyes were hard, their blue jaded. "Sheik would be incredibly disappointed."

"Vio-" Ralis started forward, shaking his head. "That's not-" a look at Vio's face silenced him, and after a moment he let out a sigh. "We should find you a proper sword."

"I already asked your armory," said Vio, swinging the stick back and forth. It was nothing like practicing with the little wooden sword Dark Zelda destroyed, more a club than anything. "They said they didn't have anything small enough, but they would see what they could do. For now, my bow will suffice."

Ralis looked, but didn't see the mentioned bow. Vio smiled a funny little smile and held out his right hand, the shadows coalescing around him and withdrawing to reveal a small bow made of a strange dark wood that definitely hadn't been there before. A shiver ran up Ralis' spine. Although he'd seen Vio do this a few times now, it hadn't ceased to unnerve him.

Vio lifted his bow and fired a single arrow at the target he'd set up nearby. He hit the edge of the target, but only just. Scowling his displeasure, Vio notched another arrow and let it fly; this one missed the target completely.

"Here." Ralis knelt beside him, gently correcting his stance. "Hold the bow a little higher, like this, and lift your elbow, there you go. Now try." Vio did as Ralis instructed, and though his aim still wasn't perfect, it was significantly better.

"Thank you, Ralis." Said Vio softly. A small frown tugged at his lips, and he looked at his bow before looking at Ralis. "You taught me to shoot once before, didn't you?"

Rali's eyes widened, but he nodded. "Yes, I did. Your mother brought you here for a long visit a couple summers ago. I was practicing, and you wanted to try."

"I remember." Vio assured him softly. He left Ralis' side to collect his arrows. "We'll leave for the temple soon, won't we?" Vio asked abruptly. "I know the warp song, and Sheik assured me it still works."

Ralis let out his breath in a whoosh. "You know I still don't like it, Vio."

"If I have even the slightest chance of helping Shadow, I have to go. There is something in there that he needs, something that will save him." He lifted his bow, looking briefly to Ralis, who nodded his approval at the improved stance. Vio learned fast.

Soon enough it grew too dark for Ralis to see clearly despite the burning torches, and he placed a gentle hand on Vio's shoulder. "It's getting late. You should get some rest."

Vio looked like he might protest, but thought better of it. He collected his arrows and held his quiver and bow out for the shadows to take, returning to his room with Ralis.

Vaati floated cross-legged over his bed, a small crystal trinket placed in front of him. It was in the shape of a Zora, poised battle-ready with his spear held aloof, a gift to Ralis from the Princess Zelda for his birthday.

"Have you found her yet, Vaati?" Vio asked softly, not wanting to startle the mage. Vaati's eyes opened and he floated back down to the bed, reaching shakily for his bottle of potion before answering.

"No, I'm sorry." Vaati shook his head, lifting the figurine in his hand to examine it. "She isn't dead, but I can tell you no more than that. Whoever has hidden her, has hidden her well."

A thoughtful look crossed Vio's face as he watched Vaati. He opened his mouth, hesitated, then closed his eyes and took a calming breath. It didn't help. "Vaati, could you, I mean, would you please look for Sheik? I know he- but I just, maybe, I mean, he is _Sheik_." Whatever composure Vio normally managed to keep slipped, and Vaati could see the frightened boy who missed his guardian, missed his friend. How could he refuse?

He nodded slowly. "I will try, but I need something that belongs to him."

Vio frowned in consternation, but Ralis brightened. "I have something. Wait here." He left the room, returning shortly with a small cloth-wrapped package, which he laid gently on the bed. He carefully untied the cloth, revealing a small, gleaming dagger bearing the Eye of Truth. Vio gasped, reaching out to touch it reverently, as though it might vanish under his fingertips. It still tingled faintly with Sheik's magic, and Vio reveled for a moment in the familiarity of it.

"This is one of Sheik's daggers. Where did you get it?" He asked, gently tracing the familiar eye with his finger.

"I met your Sheik once, only briefly." Ralis said just as softly. "It was. . .shortly after he found you, I imagine. He. . .was very, very angry with. . ." he cast a sidelong glance at Vio, unsure of how much he remembered.

That jaded look, far too old for Vio tender age, reappeared in his eyes. "My uncle."

"Yes," Ralis sighed, moving to place a hand on his shoulder. Vio flinched before he could stop himself, but didn't shrug Ralis off. "Do you remember, now, little Vio?"

"Many things have become clear to me in the last few days." Vio whispered quietly, absently touching the scar on the back of his left hand. It was an answer, but yet it told Ralis very little.

Vaati cleared his throat lightly, snapping the pair from their thoughts. "May I?" Asked Vaati, hand held out. Ralis nodded, placing the dagger carefully in front of him on the bed. Vaati placed his hands over it and closed his eyes, his power stirring around him once more.

"**Yes, boy, keep wasting your magic. The faster you use it, the quicker you will die. Won't be long, now."** Gufuu cackled, amused by something. Vaati did not deign to answer him, focusing instead on the task at hand.

Vio watched Vaati relax as he slipped into his trance. He looked as he had in the last one for a moment, before an odd expression crossed his face. Something wasn't right. His red eyes opened wide, staring blankly ahead of him. His lips moved as though speaking to someone and his eyes flashed- crimson? Ruby? Quick as lightning his hand shot out to grasp the hilt of the dagger and he threw his head backwards as his back arched painfully, a silent scream falling from his lips.

"Vaati!" Vio ran to him, small hands grasping at the sleeves of his purple tunic. The spell broke and Vaati tumbled back onto the bed, Sheik's gleaming dagger dropping from his hands to bounce off the bed and land on the floor. Vaati gasped for breath, visibly trembling as sweat tricked down his forehead. Ralis moved to help, urging him to drink the replenishing blue potion.

Vio knelt to fetch the dagger. It felt warm, but the turbulent magic quickly calmed in his hands. Vio carried it to his own bed, away from Vaati, before returning.

"What did you see Vaati?" Vio reached out, turning Vaati head to look at him. His eyes were wide and not quite seeing.

Vaati shook his head slowly. "I am sorry, so very, very sorry." He whispered, his eyes, shining too brightly, meeting Vio's for a brief moment. His voice caught in his throat, his accent thickening. (None could say if it was old Hylian or Minish that smoothed and rolled his words, "I am solly, so ver-ly, ver-ly solly.") Vio's own eyes closed, and when he opened them the vulnerable child was hidden again, and only cold logic remained. He'd known the answer before he asked.

"**Well, that was incredibly stupid, wasn't it? The dagger is spelled to repel evil influences. What did you think would happen if you touched it, boy?"** Gufuu snorted, amused. Clearly, he'd known what the dagger was all along, but hadn't bothered to say anything. It wasn't his body that would be harmed, anyway.

"_. . .I saw what I needed. . ." _

Gufuu's tone darkened, and his amusement vanished. **"Don't. You. Dare!"**

A self-deprecating chuckle was the only answer.

"**Boy!"**

"Your Highness!" Ralis and Vio both jumped, Vaati was too out of it still, when three Zora who had been out on patrol stumbled into the room, falling into a hasty bow. "T-They're coming your highness!-"

"the King's men!-"

" Your mother has gone to meet them, to try to stall them-"

Ralis didn't need to hear anymore, springing quickly into action.

"Thank you for alerting me. You, come with us, you two, alert my mother once we're gone. Vio, you know the song? Good." Ralis demanded. "We have to go, now, before they become suspicious."

"Vaati, I need my ocarina. Can you hear me? Where is it"

Vaati was trembling still, trying to recover from whatever he'd seen, but he nodded slowly, reaching a shaking hand into his tunic to withdraw the item he'd hidden. Vio plucked it quickly from his weak grasp. "Everyone, hold onto me!" He said, raising the instrument to his lips. The other Zora placed a hand on his shoulders, and Ralis moved to do the same, but suddenly broke away, tucking Sheik's dagger into a sheath at his waist. He returned and placed his hand on Vio's arm, his free hand taking Vaati's.

"Wait! Take these with you." The old healer had appeared from nowhere, as was his wont, and darted in, moving far more quickly than his age would suggest. To Vio he gave a bottle of red potion, which the boy quickly placed into his bag. To Vaati, he gave three bottles of blue. The mage took them almost mechanically, tucking them into his tunic. The healer nodded in satisfaction, and stepped away.

Ralis took Vaati's hand again, placing it on Vio's arm. Vio took a breath, and (after a halting start) the haunting notes of the nearly-forgotten Nocturne of Shadow echoed throughout the room, speaking to all of eternity, of a legacy of darkness, tears, and sorrow, and yet somehow comforting to the young boy who belonged to the shadows as much as he belonged in the light.

A swirl of magic and they were gone, passing out of the domain and through the mountains, on and on past the hidden village forgotten by all but one, to a ledge above an old graveyard, unused for centuries. They appeared on an old stone platform, cracked, but otherwise intact. It bore a weathered symbol Vio thought must be the emblem of Sage of Shadow from Sheik's book, but the years had worn it down so that it was difficult to be sure. Cautiously, he took a few steps closer to the edge. There must have once been a railing, Vio could see the marks in the rocks, but it had long since rotted away.

Peering down below into the growing dark of the night, he could see the old gravestones, long overgrown with weeds. Some of them had tipped over, others collapsed into holes in the ground. This had been a sacred place, once, perhaps, but nobody cared to tend it, anymore.

A shiver down his spine and an echoing cackle of haunted laughter followed by a shriek caused Vio to whip around, searching for the disturbance. Poor Vaati was huddled on the ground by the wall of the cliff face, arms thrown over his head to ward off the hovering poe.

The Zora drew their weapons, but Vio saw them hesitate. They could see the glowing lantern, but not the Poe itself, hidden in the shadows like the cowardly spirit it was. Vio felt for it with his other senses, the way Sheik had taught him. There! Vio held out his hand, but stopped, closing it. He couldn't use his bow without risking hitting Vaati.

The Poe swirled above Vaati, the shadows parting from its swinging scythe. Ralis' guard darted forward, narrowly managing to divert the blade from cleaving the trembling mage in two. Another frightened cry forced Vio to act.

Dashing forward Vio snatched Sheik's dagger from Ralis' side, leaping to slice it across what he hoped was the poe's midsection, judging by the coalescing shadows. The unearthly scream confirmed his aim, and Vio thrust the short blade forward, twisting it sharply. The scream rose in pitch, the shadows falling back to reveal the poe's glowing, lanky form. The dagger grew warm and thrummed in his hand, and the malevolent spirit shattered, dropping its lantern to the ground, before that too disappeared.

Vio knelt beside the trembling mage, whose eyes were still screwed shut. "Vaati? Vaati, it's gone now. It's all right."

Slowly Vaati lowered his arms, looking about himself. He took a shuddering breath. "Poes." He whispered between gritted teeth. "I _hate _poes." In his mind, Gufuu laughed, taunting him.

"**Pathetic, useless little Minish, afraid of a weak poe. And you think you can act on that little vision of yours? You don't have the guts." **

"_Shut up!" _

"No one likes poes. Nasty buggers, aren't they?" It took Vaati a moment to realize the cold voice wasn't in his head. Ralis whispered something to his guard, keeping his eyes on a figure Vaati couldn't quite see.

"Shadow!" Vio cried, taking a few steps towards him before Ralis held him back.

Dark Link laughed from his place at the edge of the cliff. "Let the boy come to me. He's the only one I want. Come, Vio, let's go home, hm?" He gave a familiar, cocky smile, but something in those ruby eyes was _wrong, _something more than the insanity. A warning, perhaps, or a threat.

"He's not going anywhere with you!" Snapped Ralis, stepping forward with his blade pointed at the shadow.

Dark Link only laughed again in response. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard-"

"Darkling!" A voice snapped. Heads whipped to the side, attention drawn to the woman at the bottom of the cliff. Glaring, she launched herself into the sky, coming to float just behind him. She seized the back of his tunic, hissing in his ear. "Do _not_ toy with them! Grab the brat and be done with it! We've found him. End it!"

Ralis' eyes widened. The woman was the perfect mirror of the missing princess, except for the dark hair and glowing eyes. She looked older, too, but something told him he couldn't judge her by looks alone. Was this the shadow of the princess?

"Yes, Dark Zelda." Dark Link drew his sword, the sound ominous in the darkness. "Hiyaa-AH!" Dark Link threw up his arms and fell back and Dark Zelda let out a screech when the guard finally ceased his fumbling and held up what he'd been working on- a shadow-disperser. The sharp, piercing light fell over the shadows, driving them back. Dark Zelda hissed her rage, firing a ball of black energy that disintegrated as soon as it reached the shadow-disperser's circle of light.

"You cannot hide behind that blasted thing forever!" Dark Link shouted from his hiding place beyond the light's reach. "We'll be waiting for you when it dies!"

Ralis kept his eyes lock on the place where the two shadow beings vanished. "Vio, and you Vaati go. We'll stay here and make sure they don't follow you, all right?"

Vio nodded. "Thank you, Ralis." Reaching out to Vaati and pulling him to his feet, Vio led him through the hole in the wall and down the crumbling stairs. "Be careful, watch your step." No sooner were the words out of his mouth than one of the stairs gave way, and only a quick jerk backwards from Vio that sent them both sprawling onto their behinds saved Vaati from plummeting face-first down the stairs.

Vio gave him a deadpan look. "I said watch your step."

Vaati at least had the grace to blush.

* * *

Dark Zelda snarled in anger. "Stupid brats and their stupid dispersers." She turned to Dark Link, who stood a little deeper in the cave beneath the grave, arms crossed. She seized the front of his tunic and shoved him towards the exit. "You will get out there and watch. If their disperser fails, kill them. If not, don't let them out of your sight. I will be very displeased if the boy dies in the temple and not by your hand. Then we'll have to hunt him down all over again, you hear me? You are not leaving this graveyard. I have. . . business, to attend to." She moved her other hand to the back of his neck and dug her claw-like nails firmly into the skin there, pressing her lips to his in a searing, demanding kiss.

His responded mechanically, but must have satisfied her, for she pulled back with a smirk. "Remember, do not let that boy leave this graveyard alive, and let no other kill him but you, Darkling."

"Yes, Dark Zelda." he replied, watching as she turned and vanished in a swirl of darkness and shadows. Pulling himself from the cave, he looked up to the ledge to see the two Zora watching him closely. He scoffed, taking a seat on one of the many graves in the area. _She_ had bid him to wait, and so he would, or risk the consequences.

* * *

All right, so a bit of shameless filler there. Vio's memories are returning, so I thought I'd take pity on Ralis and let him have some bonding time.

Depending on how long the next couple of scenes are, I should get to Vaati's thoughts in a chapter or two. Something he saw when he touched the dagger ticked Gufuu off. . . and what's with his fear of poes? A hint: I'm using them as something like dementors, Vaati's just more sensitive to them.

Thank you to the Chapter Fifteen reviewers:

**Dream-Walker_94**: Can I just say how big an ego boost this review was? I read it out loud to my roommate I was so proud of it. She laughed at me.

**Rose_Starglen**: Thanks! I hope you drop me a line more often! ^_^

**Claradwor**: Eep! *hides*

**Kick-Aft**: And I like that you're my 50th reviewer! ^_^


	17. Tick   Tock  Tick  Tock

Chapter Seventeen

* * *

The ancient stone door slid slowly open as Vio lit the final torch. There were only three, though Vio knew there should be more. Most of the others seemed to have fallen over the centuries, if the scattered bits of wood and metal were any indication.

The room within was pitch-black, and Vio held out his arm to stop Vaati from going further. "There's a large hole in front of us. Trust me, you don't want to fall. The Hero had a hookshot to get across, but we'll have to fly. Are you strong enough to carry me?"

Vio's sensitive ears picked up the sound of rustling cloth and the pop of a cork, presumably Vaati taking a drink of blue potion. Vio frowned. Was drinking this much potion normal? But then, Vaati had been sealed for quite a long time, and that itself was hardly normal. . .

"Yes, I can do it." Vaati took Vio's hand in his, following the line of his arm to wrap his arms around the boy's waist. "Hold on tightly, and tell me when to land. I can't see a thing!" With Vio secure, Vaati lifted them slowly, carefully, across the hole. Vaati shuddered at the feeling of icy-cold shadows across his skin before Vio gave the clearance to land. Keeping a firm grip on the boy's hand, Vaati followed him through the illusion to another room, this one lit by a single, sputtering torch, illuminating the large statue of a crow in the center. It looked almost like. . .but no, it wasn't quite the one he'd seen in his vision. Once again, there seemed to have once been other torches in this room, but they had fallen. The last looked like it might at any moment. Somewhere in the distance, water dripped.

Turning to look behind him, Vaati shivered at the image of a grinning skull. "Pleasant place, isn't it?" He commented. Vio turned.

"An illusion. They're mentioned in Sheik's book." The shadows drew close, and when they parted Vio flipped through the well-worn pages of the old book, searching until his eyes lighted on the desired passage. "The paintings lining the walls and concealing the doors of the Shadow temple depict images of Sheikah past to those who can see them. To those unable to see past the illusion, only skulls are visible to hide the way."

Vaati peered at the book curiously. It was written on fine parchment, spelled to slow the natural process of decay. Each page was a work of art in itself; perfect penmanship and intricate drawings telling tales of the history of Hyrule. Vaati's eyes traced the images of the Hero, lovingly rendered, and the monsters he fought. Vio saw him looking and smiled. "Sheik wrote it himself, with Shadow's help (The doodled mustache on some of the drawings of the Hero was proof enough of that). In this you'll find every tale of the Hero ever told, even those that never happened."

At Vaati's look of confusion, Vio's smile turned to a smirk and he flipped the page. "There's a map. According to this, we need to go that way." He pointed at what seemed to Vaati to be another painting just like the others, behind a column holding a dusty skull. "The other doors lead to a side area containing the Hover Boots, but we can't use those so there isn't any reason to go looking for them." Closing the book and allowing the shadows to take it once more, Vio stepped up to peer up at the crow. Vaati tilted his head back to look at it and shivered. Its eyes almost seemed to be staring down at him as though judging him.

Vio's ears twitched and his head tilted to the side, listening to something. "Make my beak face the Skull of Truth." He echoed words that Vaati couldn't hear. "The book says we have to turn this statue so it faces the way we need to go. That will open the door." Bracing his small body against the panel that jutted from the side of the bird he called, "Come on Vaati, help me!"

Vaati stared, but moved to do as bid. "Can you see through them, the illusions?"

"One, two, PUSH!" They threw their weight (such as it was) against the statue, but it didn't so much as budge. Vio groaned. "I was afraid of that." Heaving a sigh, he withdrew the book again. As he suspected, the Hero of Time would not have been able to move the statue without the aid of his magical gauntlets.

Vaati looked back up at the statue while Vio was busy. It wasn't looking at him anymore, but somewhere in the distance. Vaati shuttered.

"Oh, no." Vio mumbled distractedly. "I can't see through them, not the way Sheik can. . . could. I'm not a Sheikah, just a Hylian trained to recognize the shadows. I know they're there, but not what they hide. . .oh!" The rusted stand of one of the fallen torches had drawn his eyes. "Maybe. . .Vaati, fly me over!"

Blinking, Vaati did as asked, carrying Vio through the illusion (why were they so COLD?) to set him down on a (far too small for comfort) ledge, in front of a door covered by rusted metal bars. Vio's small arm fit easily through them, pushing open the door. He knelt, peering intently at the bars before nodding in satisfaction. "It's very damp down here. See? The bars have rusted. If I could just. . ." Vio braced himself against the wall, kicking hard at the chosen bar. It shuddered, but did not give. Vio kicked it again and twice more before Vaati laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me try something." Vaati said gently, kneeling beside him. Taking a slow, careful breath, Vaati brought his focus to his magic. A damp breeze blew past Vio's face, swirling around the bar. Slowly at first, then faster and faster it whirled, until Vio saw that Vaati was _speeding up_ the rusting of the bars. Before his very eyes the bar Vio kicked and the two beside it seemed to waste away until they were no thicker than his finger.

Abruptly the wind died. Turning to Vaati Vio found him pale and shaking, on the verge of collapsing into the darkness below. Vio grabbed his arm and pulled him back, leaning him against the wall by the door. "Vaati? Can you hear me? Vaati?" The mage's eyes were closed and he panted heavily. Vio scowled, crawling all but on top of him as he patted his tunic until he found what he needed, a bottle of blue potion. "Drink Vaati, come on, there you go."

Gradually color returned to Vaati's face, and he smiled weakly. "Sorry." He whispered, taking the bottle for another swallow before putting it away. "I didn't mean to worry you."

"Don't wear yourself out that much,Vaati. There are a lot of these pits in this temple." That said, Vio shifted to kick at the bards once more, this time snapping them easily to make room for the pair of them to slip beneath. "Be careful, the tips are sharp." Vio warned as he slipped through, careful to avoid the remains of the bars.

Vaati wasn't quite as graceful, and let out a yelp when he cut his knee on the bit of remaining bar sticking up from the floor. Rolling the rest of the way, he bent to inspect the damage, and deciding it was serious enough, reached for his bottle of blue potion.

"Don't use blue for that, here, I have red. Use this." Vio held out the bottle to him. The wound would heal with only a sip, so Vaati obliged before returning the bottle.

They made their way into the next room, to find the skeleton of a beamos which had long stopped working. Its single eye stared back at them, empty and dead. The walls were blocked off by mountains of skulls. Vaati shivered.

"We can't get through." He whispered, hardly daring to speak any louder. "The way is blocked."

"No it's not. This way." Vio took Vaati's hand, leading him through the macabre illusion of death.

Two and half bottles of blue potion remained.

* * *

_Darkness and shadow. It was part of him and he was part of it._

_Him? What was a "him?" _

_Sensation. The touch of ice against his bare skin, clawed hands upon him. _

_Ice? Skin? Claws? What were these things? _

"_Dark Link. . .Dark Link. . .darling little Darkling. . ." Sound, a crooning voice like nails on glass. "Awaken my Darkling, open your eyes. . ." _

_Eyes. To see. He hadn't known they were closed. He opened them, as she bid. _

_She? He? Was he different from the voice? From the darkness and shadows? _

_Ruby red eyes, hair blacker than the darkness, and skin so pale it hurt to look at her. She was beautiful and terrifying, all at once. _

_She giggled, the sound a hammer and chisel on his skull. "You're so handsome Darkling. I knew you would be, when I first saw Him through Her eyes." Those claws ran through his own hair, which he saw was as black as hers, and cupped his face, locking her gaze with his. He couldn't look away._

"_It took a long time, Darkling, but I did it. I finally forced Him to gather enough darkness to give you form, so that I might give you life." Her lips, cold as her hands, pressed to his, and he couldn't help but kiss her back. "You're mine, Darkling. I created you, so I own you. Me, and no other. No other ever will." _

_What was this feeling, welling up inside of him? Was it love? Was it hate? What did those words mean? _

_Did it really matter? _

* * *

They'd passed through a long corridor containing guillotines every few feet, but they no longer worked. The blades had long since rusted and fallen from their gears, lying about on the floor as though thrown there by a petulant child.

The next room, according to the book, should have contained many platforms they could use to cross. But if the platforms had been there once, they were gone now, crumbled into the pit below. Looking about, Vaati saw more statues of the crow. He could swear they were watching them.

"There should still be a ledge, hidden by the shadows." Vio knelt to pick up a pebble, tossing it to the side. Sure enough it bounced, coming to rest on nothing.

"_. . .beware the shadows that hang from the ceiling. . ."_

Vio barely heard the whispered warning before a whoosh sounded in his sensitive ears. Vaati, who had turned to peer into the yawning chasm with morbid interest, didn't seem to notice the shadow growing at his feet.

"Watch out!" Vio yelled, but too late. The giant hand dropped on top of the small Minish, catching him by surprise. Vaati screamed as he was lifted, and almost without thinking Vio summoned his bow and arrows from the shadows. Notching an arrow he prayed to the goddesses he wouldn't miss or accidentally hit Vaati as he let the arrow fly. The monster gave a horrible groan and screech as it split into four smaller Wallmasters and dropped its prey, Vaati only just managing to catch himself before he hit the ground. Something tumbled from inside his tunic and one of the four landed on it with the awful crunching sound of breaking glass.

Vio struck down two of the smaller hand-like monsters with Sheik's dagger before he heard Vaati yell. Turning, he saw the blue-soaked Wall Master grow and swell to twice its size, feeding on the blue potion the bottle had held. Vaati scrambled backwards frantically and the monster leaped at him, only to be shot again by one of Vio's arrows. It roared and split into four again, these roughly the same size as an average Wallmaster.

Vio notched another arrow and prepared to let it fly before he felt the whisper of wind on his back and whipped about, firing instead at the last of the small Wallmasters which had tried to sneak up on him.

Vaati blasted the four large Wallmasters back against the stone wall, splitting them into four each again. The small hands grunted and chirped and clicked and clacked across the floor to surround them.

Vio's stance shifted, the dagger held out before him. He waited until the beasts were almost on top of him before he spun, wiping out over half of them.

Vaati had killed six of them with a small fire spell. Two more sprang at him, and Vio cleaved them easily in two. Vaati blew a third against the wall before it could grab him, followed by a wind-directed arrow. A heartbeat passed, then another.

Tired blue stared at exhausted red.

"Maybe we should take a break."

The bottle that had broken was full. Only a bottle and a half of blue potion remained.

* * *

Dark Link, whose form currently resembled what Ralis thought might be a Hylian teen, spent most of the night taunting them from the safety of the graveyard.

(_"What in the Great Fish is he doing?" _

"_I believe the term is 'mooning,' your highness."_)

Sunrise caught him almost by surprise, as though he hadn't noticed the rapid lightning of the sky. He let out a hiss and dove for cover, cursing his annoyance that he couldn't take shelter in one of the out-of-sight graves, instead banished to the shade of a weeping willow.

Ralis sat at the edge of the ledge by entrance to the Shadow Temple, watching the shadow. It galled him that he could do nothing to assist little Vio on his quest (he'd tried, but found the since he couldn't fly, he couldn't get very far into the temple), angered him to know that the child and the Wind Mage had descended into such a dark place to attempt to save a Dark Creature.

One Who Didn't Even Care!

Anger flared in him, and ignoring his guard's panicked shout Ralis leaped from the ledge, landing gracefully in the graveyard below. Crimson eyes watched him warily as he stalked closer to the tree, though still standing well beyond its shade. They stared at one another, one in light, one in shadow, neither wanting to make the first move. Dark Link was the first to give and avert his gaze, looking back towards the Shadow Temple.

"Do you know why we're here in a graveyard nobody has set foot in for centuries?"

"I don't give a flying fu-"

"We're here," Ralis interrupted sharply, "because Vio is determined that something in this place will help you."

"I don't need _help_!" Dark Link snarled, letting out an irate hiss.

"Vio seems to think you do. Apparently, he doesn't think this behavior is normal for you. Vaati doesn't either." Ralis replied, unimpressed. He leaned almost casually on the spear he carried, though every muscle in his body spoke of how tense he was. "Neither will speak of what happened in Castle Town, except to say it wasn't your fault. I don't believe that for a minute."

Dark Link snorted, but chose to ignore him.

Ralis was not pleased. "You never cared for either of them. I knew you were lying when you said you loved Sheik-"

"DO NOT MENTION THAT NAME TO ME!" Dark Link threw his hand forward, blade-like shots of energy heading straight for Ralis' chest. The prince dove to the side, and the weapons dispersed harmlessly under the sun's bright rays. The guard shouted, but Ralis waved for him to stay away even as Dark Link moved as close as the shade would allow. "Do not EVER mention _SHEIK_ to me! Sheik did not exist! Sheik never existed! Sheik! Is! Not! REAL!"

A flick of Ralis' wrist followed by a shriek from Dark Link as several branches of the willow fell to the ground drove him back closer to the trunk, glaring harshly at the stone-faced prince.

"He was real enough not that long ago." Ralis demanded, voice disgusted. Was this the same shadow who had been so crushed by the loss of the Eternal Shield he couldn't even fight off a couple guards? "They're wrong about you. They're wasting their time, aren't they?"

Dark Link chuckled. "Weak. They're both weak. Link can't even sustain the Hero, and Vaati has always been a weakling, just a pawn."

Two more branched fell.

"His name is Vio. That's supposed to mean something to you!" Ralis' eyes burned with a cold fury as he glared at him.

"He's a traitor!" Dark Link shouted, fists balled up at his sides. His form had shifted at some point. He was smaller just then, looking perhaps twelve or thirteen. With his lips pulled back in a snarl and his white fangs clearly visible, it fit somehow. "In the end they're all the same! It doesn't matter which Link I kill. If I kill him I'll be whole, like Dark Zelda wants." And Dark Zelda had to be appeased. If she wasn't. . . well, Dark Link didn't want to think about it.

"You're a moron. I expected nothing less from a Dark Creature. I should have destroyed you in the dungeon and saved Vio this pain. He still calls for you, you know, when he sleeps. The Wind Mage too. It's absolutely galling." Turning, Ralis headed back towards the ledge, one hand slipping into his bag.

With his back to the shadow, he missed the momentary pause, the slight twitch of guilt on his face before he shoved it away.

Dark Link sneered and opened his mouth to say something more, but Ralis didn't give him a chance. Pulling his hand from his bag he tossed a light crystal under the tree, watching coldly as Dark Link screamed and scrambled to find a shadow to hide in, away from the burning light.

Ignoring the angry shouts and curses hurled after him (he was going to shove what, where? Was that even possible?) Ralis stalked back to the ledge and jumped to grab his guard's hand to pull himself up.

* * *

"Vaati!" Tumbling and turning, Vio dropped out of sight.

They had entered the room cautiously. The book said this was a hall of winds, with gusts strong enough to blow a grown man off into the pits below. The first fan hadn't been running, still they proceeded with care. The second fan didn't even twitch. The fan at the end sputtered, but was still. They rounded the corner, still nothing.

They had reached the last section of the hall, this with steep drops on either side. Without any warning a side fan suddenly kicked in full strength, blowing Vio sideways and off the ledge with a startled scream.

Vaati whipped around, diving into the dark pit after him, the roar of the fan and icy cold of the fall singing past his ears as he urged the winds to push him faster until he could grab onto Vio's blue tunic. _Something_ roared up to grab at them, but Vaati didn't hang around in midair long enough to find out what it was. Directing the wind hard in the other direct stopped their plummet into nothing, and quickly as he could, Vaati brought them back up.

The other fans had sputtered to life by then, some working better than others. Vaati was unprepared for the full force of it, blowing them sideways and through a wall that wasn't a wall, into a room Vaati didn't even know was there.

A paralyzing shriek greeted them. Vio's gaze, stuck fixed somewhere just past Vaati's head, grew wide with fright as the slowly lumbering Redead drew near, its gaunt, decaying body looming over the Wind Mage's tiny form.

A second shriek and the feel and stench of rancid breath on the back of his neck (that one guard with the yellow teeth had worse breath, actually, now that he thought about it. . . That was a disturbing thought.) alerted Vio to the presence of at least one more Redead making its way towards them.

_Come on, come on!_ Finally Vio was able to move, and he drew Sheik's dagger quick as a flash and spun, knocking the thing back so it fell with a gasping groan. One hit didn't finish it, however, and it screamed again, paralyzing him.

The first Redead wrapped its dusty, dead hands around Vaati's torso, dipping its head to bite into the Wind Mage's left arm. The pain snapped him from the paralysis and he screamed, the hungry Redead tangling its legs with his to keep him from kicking as it chewed with blunt teeth, its dry body groaning like wood bending in the wind as it jerked with the pleasure of his magic-infused blood filling the hole that served as its mouth and flowing deeper into its body.

A third Redead had appeared through a hole in the collapsed wall to the right, and it latched onto the frozen Vio just as the second Redead returned to him. Each latched onto a shoulder, sawing through cloth and skin and muscle as they took his lifeforce for themselves, pushing, pawing, scraping at his flesh. As with Vaati, the pain returned his ability to move, and he screamed as his body twisted to escape them, rational thought fleeing from his head as he fought wildly, working one leg loose enough to kick at the Redead in front of him, forcing it back. It screamed in his face and lunged forward again, bloody teeth aiming for his throat (and they didn't have a fairy for that!)-

A jolt like lightning shot through the Redeads (and by extension, Vio), forcing them to drop him before a strong blast of wind knocked the groaning Redeads back through the hole in the wall, too far for their screams to paralyze. Another whispered spell blasted the rock nearby, blocking the other room and ensuring that no Redead remained.

Though his own arm dripped blood, Vaati dragged himself to Vio, who lay screaming and gasping for breath, pained tears pouring down his face. "Shadow, shadow. . ." He whimpered, very much just a frightened little boy. If his shadow heard, he didn't answer.

(Outside, Ralis observed the Dark Creature start and look towards the temple. He moved as though he might try to approach it, then stopped, sitting down again with his back to the tree trunk. The sun was still high and the sky cloudless, so he could come no closer.)

Vaati lifted Link's head with one hand, ignoring the blood flowing freely over them both as he groped for the bottle of red, bringing it to the boy's lips and forcing him to drink. Vio coughed and spluttered but swallowed it down, emptying the bottle. Vaati drained his second bottle of blue before looking Vio over again, seeing that his wounds weren't entirely healed. The Redeads had done a number on him, and his thrashing only made it worse. Pulling out his last bottle of potion, Vaati gave it to Vio, using another quarter of it before his shaking finally stopped and he lay still.

Vaati stroked his hair gently, whispering soft words of comfort. Redeads were terrifying creatures. He didn't fear them as he feared Poes and their ability to make him _remember_, but they were terrifying none-the-less. Lost, tortured souls forever seeking the fill the void of hunger within them.

He wasn't sure how long they sat there before Vio slowly drew himself up, the blood on his torn tunic already beginning to dry and stick to him. Together, they passed into the next room.

Only perhaps three-fourths of a bottle of blue potion remained. Gufuu, who had been oddly quiet, laughed.

"**Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. . ."**

* * *

Well, I originally intended to finish the entire Shadow Temple in one chapter, but since this already the longest chapter (over 4,000 words, a record for me!) and it's been close to two weeks, I figured I might as well take pity on you and post now (also, thank Rococospade. She kind of guilted me into updating by posting a few updates herself for Static Red. Go read it, it's awesome!)

Thank you to the Chapter Sixteen Reviewers Kick-Aft, Rose Starglen, darkwolflink1, Rococospade (your review...so long! Yay! *Spazz spazz spazz*. Thank you again for being awesome. Hopefully this chapter lived up to your expectations of unfortunate events. I promise to give you credit for you-know-who as soon as he actually makes himself known), and Clarador (although I'm currently hiding from you in an undisclosed location for my own safety).


	18. He Is Not Yet Dead

Chapter Eighteen

Iblis isn't mine. He belongs to RococoSpade, and just decided to up and nest in my brain to help me out when I had trouble with this chapter. RococoSpade, you have my unending thanks for being awesome and letting me borrow him. Anyone who wants to see more of him can find him in her fic, "Static Red." (Which you should all go read anyway because it's incredible.)

* * *

The next room felt much colder than those previous. Before them a large ferry floated on seemingly nothing, a river of shadow that bridged the gap between the worlds of light and dark. The prow held an image of the head of a crow, its sightless eyes staring ahead towards the yawning tunnel of black.

"We'll have to take the ferry to reach the deeper regions of the temple." Vio said quietly. His eyes were fixed on the book again, and a frown tugged at his features. He looked up and to his left, away from Vaati, and nodded to seemingly nothing.

Vaati lifted him, ignoring the blood that still covered them both, _their_ blood, sticky and wet, dying their clothes an unsightly crimson. Together, they rose into the air and settled onto the boat. Vaati's eyes were drawn for a moment to the large cage he hadn't at first noticed, set back into the wall near the door where they'd entered. He wondered who had been held there, and what their crime had been.

Soft and sweet, the notes of an ocarina rang out in the darkness, breaking Vaati's gloomy thoughts. Vaati didn't recognize the tune, but it was lovely and calming, and filled with magic. So relaxed did it make him that when the ship jolted and started to move, he was caught off guard and fell on his behind with a small yelp.

"Are you alright, Vaati?" Vio asked, lowering his ocarina as he moved to help Vaati up. The ship rose and fell as though on an invisible current as it entered the dark tunnel before them, the eerie chimes of the large bells on its front preceding them.

"Yes, I'm fine." Vaati's eyes were drawn to the crow's head above the arch, watching them pass with blank, empty eyes. He shivered, and moved past Vio to peer at the many half-columns the ship floated past, barely visible in the darkness. "I feel like something ought to be there." He said finally, his voice a mere whisper.

"There is." Answered Vio just as softly. "We just can't see them yet. Wait a moment."

They traveled further along the tunnel, and Vaati understood. If he stared at the columns long enough, he began to see shapes, figures staring back at them. Bloody eyes that saw all set in cowl-covered faces too-pale with death followed their progress, and Vaati felt that they had been watching them all along as they traveled through this place. He heard them speaking softly to each other, their whispers too quiet for him to make out. Vio's eyes searched each face, and Vaati smiled sadly when he realized who it was the boy was looking for.

"This is the gate between darkness and light, the place where shadows lie. These are the spirits of the Sheikah, Children of Lord Iblis who watches over this Temple." Vio whispered, eyes fixed on one of the columns. He fell quiet, listening closely. "These are the ones who will not pass until the debt is paid."

Vaati felt something in his chest give a twinge and he raised one hand to rub at it absently.

"**It's fitting, boy, that you're in the House of the Dead. You won't leave here alive." **Gufuu laughed, apparently thinking himself funny.

"_I don't intend to. . ." _His vision came to mind; a blood-red jewel, and the gentle crow who watched over it. . .

There was a snarl in his mind. **"You'll never last long enough to make it there, I promise you." **

Blue fires burned in the torches ahead. Tearing himself from the confines of his mind, Vaati could see the end of the tunnel approaching in the dim light. The ferry was nearing a dock of sorts that held the eerie blue flames, and Vaati assumed that was their stop. He moved from the front of the boat to the side where Vio stood, wrapping his arms around the child to lift them both to the (relatively) solid floor.

"Wait, stop." Vio held out a hand, backing from him. His serious blue eyes stared imploringly into Vaati's red. "Vaati, do you trust me?"

Surprised by the question, Vaati blinked. Vio had pulled him from his prison, trusted him to help with this task, and been nothing but kind to him. "Of course."

"Then stay on the boat."

It took a moment for that to register. "What?" They were nearly at the end of the river, now, unless the wall ahead was another illusion? Surely that was it, then.

But no. The boat stopped just before it hit the wall, the force of it making them both stumble. It shuddered, and began to drop. Vaati's eyes widened and he grabbed for Vio, intending to pull him from the ship despite his protests.

"No, Vaati! We have to stay aboard!" Vio pushed away from him desperately. "Not yet, we can't jump yet!"

The boat was sinking now, slowly, slowly dropping below the platform.

"Vio!" Vaati called out nervously.

"No! They'll tell us when, and not before!"

Faster now, the boat cut through the shadows, down down down into the darkness. Something screamed past them, ice tore at their skin, but still Vio stayed, eyes fixed to the right of the boat, looking at something Vaati still couldn't see, even as the illusions of light faded.

"Vio, if we go any farther I won't be able to fly us up!" Vaati yelled in a panic as his hair flew around him wildly, carried by a wind not of his own making.

"Not yet! Vaati, not yet!" Vio grabbed his hand, blue eyes determined but oh so frightened. "We have to wait!"

There was a sound like breaking glass, and Vaati shuddered as he felt them pass through the magic of one barrier, then another. Still they fell, so far Vaati thought for sure they must be falling into the pits of hell itself.

Another _thing_ (or maybe the same one?) roared off the side of the boat, visible now where it hadn't been before. It was black and twisted, darkness and power and anger and destruction, one giant red eye as big as Vaati himself staring at them with hatred as one massive hand swung at them-

"NOW!" Vio ran and Vaati with him, and together they leapt into the shadows and crashed through a swirling barrier of shadowy Sheikah magic. They rolled to absorb the impact, landing in a heap on black, frigid stone. Hearts racing, they lay still for several moments.

"Vio?"

"Hm?"

"Don't ever do that again."

Vio laughed and climbed to his feet, offering a hand to help Vaati up. The mage stood on unsteady feet, following Vio towards a door away from the ledge. There were carvings in what must have been Sheikah around the edges of the frame, ancient but well-preserved. Vio bent near to examine them, andVaati took the opportunity to take a small sip from his potion bottle.

"Can you read it?" Asked Vaati after a moment. Vio shook his head.

"No. I can only just make out a few symbols, this is an older dialect. There's something here about Lord Iblis, the Royal Family, and sacrifices, but that's it." Said Vio, shaking his head. He called his book from the shadows- they answered him quickly here, Vaati noticed- but there too he found nothing. "There's no mention of this place in the book. Sheik never set foot here, or he didn't know it existed."

Vaati froze and almost spat out his potion. He coughed violently, taking a moment to find his breath before he gaped at the boy. "You. . .didn't know this was here, and we made that suicidal drop anyway?" He squeaked.

Vio seemed unfazed. "They told me it was here, the Sheikah spirits. They said we would found what we sought if we stayed on the boat. Lord Iblis would guide us. And look," Vio pointed to one of the images, a crow depicted in relief on the stone. Its wide, imploring eyes were painted red, a more faded crimson than that of the Sheikah. Something sparked in Vaati's mind. He knew those eyes, had seen them when he touched the dagger. "That's Lord Iblis."

"Well," said Vaati after a moment, "I suppose we should move on, then." Vio opened the door and slipped inside, but Vaati took one last look over his shoulder. As he thought, three of the Sheikah spirits from the columns stood near the ledge, watching them silently. He felt like they were seeing through him, to the dark beast he hid in his soul. Vaati shivered.

A disgusted noise from Vio drew his attention to the next room and he made his way through the door, shutting it behind him. "What is it, Vio?"

"Don't you smell that? Blood, and a lot of it." Only two torches burned in the large room, with the same pale blue fire as the ones above. Vio was right; the smell was nauseating. Vaati covered his nose and dropped to his knees beside Vio, reaching out to touch the floor in front of them. Unlike the stone in the previous room, this floor was hard-packed dirt. It felt sticky and wet.

The blue light glinted darkly off his fingertips as Vaati lifted them close to his face. His fingers were smeared with blood, and it wasn't his. "By the Three. . ." he whispered, staring in horror at his hand. Vaati thought he might be sick, and Vio didn't look much better.

"Vaati, something isn't right. We have to get out of here, right now." Vio took his hand in his right and drew Sheik's dagger with his left, wincing when he grabbed the hand sticky with the crimson stain from the floor. There was a door across the room, situated just behind the statue of a crow with faded red eyes. They took off across the room with their eyes fixed on the door, cringing when their feet sank slightly into the bloody earth.

It happened too fast. One moment they were dashing across the middle of the room, the floor soft and wet enough to make unpleasant squelching noises when they stepped on it, and the next they found themselves ripped off their feet and hoisted into the air like ragdolls.

Vaati twisted and turned, trying vainly to see what had caught them, and when he finally did how he wished he hadn't. Hands. Dead Hand. Pale and bloated and dripping foul black blood and other fluids he didn't want to think about into his hair and mingling with his own blood on his tunic. He heard a scream and he twisted as well as he could to catch sight of Vio.

His heart stopped.

A decaying mass of putrid, bloated flesh with a neck too long and a wide-open, gaping bloody maw was wading through the soft soil to Vio, suspended in the air by the grip another of the hands had on his left shoulder. The boy kicked and squirmed, but Vaati saw that he had dropped the dagger to the ground.

Vaati panicked. Closing his eyes for a moment to cast the spell, he didn't see Vio call the blade to his right hand with the shadows, nor when he plunged it into the face of the oncoming monster. Vaati's affinity was wind, not earth, not fire, nor water, nor light; his control of other elemental spells was tenuous at best, and nonexistent at worse. Still, lightning shot from Vaati's fingertips, spreading in a wild, uncontrolled arc to the wet ground and the monster lodged in it, passing through its body with what Vaati hoped was enough power to kill it (if it could be killed)-

And straight into Vio.

The boy screamed, the hand seizing around his shoulder with a sickening crunch before it released him, where he fell to the wet, electrified ground. Vaati's eyes flew open when the creature dropped him too and with horror he realized his mistake, ending the spell as quickly as he could. The thing retreated, and Vaati scrambled across the floor, woozy from the sudden power of the spell.

Cold, cruel laughter echoed in his mind and Vaati fought to block it out, kneeling beside Vio to check his pulse. "Vio, Vio, I'm so sorry. Wake up, please? Don't die here, you can't die here!"

Vio woke with a groan. "V-Vaati, b-behind you!" He struggled to sit up, but his muscles spasmed with pain and he fell back, the bloody floor staining his golden hair a muddied red.

Vaati felt the air shift but was just too tired, too slow, the hands snatching him up again. The beast waded closer and Vaati could smell the stink of rotting corpses against his face.

"**Go on, boy. One more spell will end you!"** Gufuu cackled.

Sheik's dagger was still lodged in its nose. Vaati lunged for it, ripping down and to the side, slashing the creature open. It howled, an unearthly, ear-splitting sound as decayed flesh and rot and blood and slime ran down his arms and the spell on the dagger burned burned _burned_ his hands, making him cry out.

And suddenly he was flying, and not of his own volition. His mind was slowing, and he didn't manage to stop himself before he hit the wall with a loud CRACK. Spots of black gathered in his eyes as he slid down to the bloody floor, watching helplessly as the creature edged closer to Vio, rendered unable to fight by Vaati's own spell. That long, long neck bent, the mouth opening wide and dripping as too-blunt bloody fangs neared the child's tender flesh.

_'Please. . .someone. . .' _

A loud caw like an angry crow cut through the room, causing the Dead Hand to jerk back and scream as through struck with the lightning spell again, but a hundred times more powerful. The cry sounded once more, louder still, and the monster shuddered and thrashed, throwing itself forward before freezing ram-rod still with its dripping maw hovering dangerously close to Vio's supine form. Vaati forced himself to remain conscious, lifting one shaking hand as he called what little power remained to him, reaching deep, deep, deep until he pulled upon power that wasn't his own. He cast the one spell he swore he'd never use again, feeling something in his soul shatter as he whispered the incantation to turn flesh to stone. The monster seemed to snap back to itself, its arms flailing wildly narrowly missing striking Vio as the sheer power flashed around it, hardening its putrid flesh until it was no more than a terrifying statue, poised with dark, staring eye sockets, bared disgusting, dripping teeth, and far too many reaching, grasping, groping hands. It was terrifying.

His body shaking with pain and exhaustion Vaati crawled to where Vio lay, unmoving. In a scene becoming far too painfully familiar now, Vaati withdrew his last potion bottle, lifting it to Vio's lips. It took half the bottle to correct his crushed shoulder and hopefully repair the internal damage Vaati's own power had caused. There was barely a mouthful of potion left. Slowly he lifted the bottle towards his face. . .

And such a great pain tore through his chest that he dropped it, spilling its precious contents across the ground. Vaati doubled over, clutching his chest and biting back a scream as the liquid seeped into the bloody dirt.

Gufuu laughed uproariously. **"You're out of time, boy! There's nothing to protect you now!" **

"No!" Vaati grunted. "Not yet, not yet!" His vision flashed before his mind again.

A crow with faded red eyes, protecting a blood-red crystal. . .

An offering of blood to prove intent. . .

An offering of body to pay the debt. . .

Equal exchange, one soul for another.

A life to end that another might rise again.

Vaati reached deep, deep inside himself to a core of strength he'd been certain he didn't have, drawing himself to his feet. He took one stumbling step towards the door and lost his footing, falling to his hands and knees and panting heavily.

"V-Vaati?" Vaati turned. Vio was looking at him, but Vaati the impression he wasn't quite awake, only stuck in that place between reality and dreams. Vaati hoped he'd stay there; he couldn't let him follow any farther.

"Yes, Vio?" He rasped.

"You. . . you'll still be here when I wake up, won't you? You won't. . .leave me too. . .will you?" Vio was struggling to waken fully, sensing something wasn't right.

Vaati hushed him gently, running his fingers gently through blood-matted hair. "Someone will be here when you wake." He assured him quietly. Gingerly he removed his cape, which was marginally cleaner than the rest of his clothing, and draped it over Vio like a blanket. Seeing the soft lavender against the child's skin made Vaati smile. "Blue really doesn't suite you." He murmured, removing his hat and folding it under Vio's head like a pillow. "Sleep now," he whispered softly.

Vio tried to fight it a moment more, but he was simply too tired, and drifted back into dreamland. Vaati felt something like a stir of wind against his neck and turned. The same three Sheikah spirits who had watched them on the ledge stood by the wall now. Their faces were covered and their eyes emotionless, but they looked on still. "You'll watch him for me, won't you?" Vaati murmured. Slowly, as one, they nodded.

Vaati dragged himself across the room towards the door on the far side, the pain in his chest growing more intense with every inch. He could feel the eyes of the Sheikah spirits on him, but he didn't dare look back. He could feel what he knew they saw; black, evil magic coalescing around his body, trying to draw his form into that of a giant beast, a bat with one huge, glaring eye.

"**Give up, boy. " **He hissed. **"It won't hurt so badly if you just give up. There's no need to fight me. You've known this day was coming for a very long time!" **

"_I will not. I won't! I have to. . .I must pay the . .." _

Gufuu's laughter was harsh in his mind, and he threw his influence more forcefully against Vaati's will, bringing him crashing to the floor. Vaati laid there for a moment, watching the dark energy growing more and more solid in front of him. **"Sleep, boy. It will be much easier for you. . ." **

"_NO!" _Bracing his small form against the crow statue, he forced himself to his feet. His hands, rendered raw and bloody from the dagger, burned and bled, leaving crimson smears on the crow's exquisitely-carved feathers. The statue's faded red eyes shone brighter. Vaati took no notice of this, forcing his mind to focus on the pain in his hands instead of the demon trying to escape from his mind, and the blue light dimming around him.

Step by slow, painful step Vaati dragged himself to the door. The Eye of Truth gleamed dully in the light, and Vaati reached one bloody hand out to touch its pupil, the heart of the symbol that had held him prisoner for so many centuries, half-alive but dying. The door groaned and slid open.

Gufuu grew more insistent; the pain in his chest spiked when Gufuu's magic took hold of his heart and _squeezed_, and Vaati clutched his chest in agony and stumbled, pitching head-first towards the unforgiving stone.

Arms wrapped around his chest to catch him, and Vaati felt himself lifted impossibly high by gentle, careful hands that cradled him like a small child. The man's faded red eyes (so much like the statue's) were filled with sorrow, his skin pale, tinged with gray. His attire, as well as Vaati could see it, was strange; a mane of gleaming crow's feathers wrapped about his neck, and the rest of his clothing shone the same fathomless black. Vaati didn't recognize the one who held him, but Gufuu apparently did. A growl, guttural, harsh, rough and not his own, escaped from Vaati's lips.

"**Iblis! Stay out of this you meddling, bleeding-hearted fool! The boy is mine! He gave his soul to me!" **

The man frowned and his eyes hardened. He pressed one pale-grey hand to Vaati's lips. "Hush, Demon Gufuu. You're in my realm now. You have no power here." His voice radiated with a magic that made Vaati shudder. It lessened the pain in his body and eased the constant pressure of Gufuu in his mind.

Vaati felt control of his senses return to him, but still he found himself staring up at Iblis- _Iblis! The Sheikah God Vio mentioned on the ferry!- _speechless.

Those red eyes softened, and grew sad as he looked upon the Minish, small at the best of times and looking no more than a babe in the arms of the god, who stood easily twice the height of the average Hylian. "You have come to pay the debt, Wind Mage Vaati?"

Vaati took a slow, careful breath. "Yes. I have come to pay the debt."

The man moved with gliding steps through the door with the Eye of Truth, which slid slowly shut behind them. He walked slowly down the hall behind the door, his eyes scanning the walls and growing impossibly sadder. There were more portraits hung here of the Sheikah, but their illusions had fallen away, revealing the cowled faces and bloody eyes that Vaati hadn't been able to see in the upper reaches of the temple. From each portrait emerged a spirit, a bloody-eyed Sheikah watching them curiously. Whispers broke out among them.

". . .the sacrifice. . ."

". . .the One-Who-Is-Living. . ."

". . .our debt will be paid. He's come. . ."

They stopped before another door, this one too holding a portrait frame, though it was blank. Iblis lifted his hand to open it, but stopped. He looked down at Vaati, his gaze searching. "You will pay the debt, even after all he did to you? Knowing he tried to kill you, and would have seen you suffer?"

Vaati gave a slow breath, that same, strange little smile tugging at his lips once more. "Perhaps my death was his intent, but in the end he gave me something precious." Vaati broke off with a wince, and Iblis laid one cool hand on his chest to soothe him. "He gave me the chance to live as myself again, if only for a short time. He let me see what my only friend has become under his influence. He made Shadow Link happy, and Shadow Link will never be happy again without him." He laughed, a painful, dry noise that sounded more like a cough. "The Shadow I knew would never have taken in a child, let alone his little light, and raised him like his own. He would never have been able to inspire such loyalty and love that the child would risk his life entering this place of death with only a dagger, a bow, and a half-dead Minish to find a way to save him. And . . ." A pained grimace crossed Vaati's face. "It is my fault that Gufuu lives. It's my responsibility to destroy him. There is no other way."

The faded eyes searched his, seeking every truth hidden there. They saw that Vaati was tired. He was tired of living a half-life, alive and yet so close to death at every moment.

"Lord Iblis," one of the hidden Sheikah whispered, "He-Who-Is-Living-But-Dead awaits."

The man made a sound of displeasure at his title, but didn't correct the spirit. He'd tried for centuries. "So he does."

The door slid away and they stepped into the room beyond. Torches flared to life, muted green, pale blue, and fiery red spiraling higher and higher, illuminating the large, circular room but throwing more shadows than fire ever should. There were shelves here, many, many shaded shelves going higher and higher, out of sight past the lines of torches.

"This is the burial room, where my children are laid to rest." Iblis murmured as he glided silently towards the center of the room. "Many pass on, but some choose to stay here in this sacred place, this gate between worlds. Some stay to protect those buried in the graveyard above, some to protect this gate between my realm and the realm of the Three. And some. . ." he stopped before an altar in the very center of the chamber, gazing down at its one lone occupant. "Some stay to watch over him until he wakes."

Sheik looked peaceful, hands clasped on his chest over the tabard bearing the Eye of Truth. A blood-red crystal surrounded him, protecting his body which had lain dormant for a thousand years. "Like the sleeping Princess." Vaati said quietly.

A smile tugged at Iblis' lips. "I suppose he is, but don't tell him that."

The Sheikah spirits had filed in after them, countless dead come to see the debt paid. They each took a position around the edge of the room, all holding instruments in their hands. There were lyres, harps, violins, flutes, and drums. The strings began to play first, a slow, haunting melody that spoke of sadness, shadows and longing.

"Are you ready, Wind Mage Vaati?" The light in the room grew brighter in response to the music, but Vaati's vision was dim. Gufuu, though silenced, fought with all his might to break free of Vaati's shell, the magic flickering and pulsing over the mage's tiny form.

"Yes."

Iblis began to sing, a low, powerful baritone. Vaati had the strange thought that it was nothing like Dark Link's lovely tenor. Iblis released Vaati, but he didn't fall. He floated above the altar, watching as the god stepped back and raised his hands, the drummers joining the strings with a slow, uncertain rhythm, like a heart trying to remember how to beat again.

The crystal around Sheik's body began to form vapors, drifting lazily upwards to wrap around Vaati as though tasting, testing him. More and more of the red slithered up, pushing the darkness from his vision and replacing it with the bloody cloud.

The flutes joined the strings and the drummer's rhythm gradually picked up, the pulse steady in his ears. There was a flash of light to his left and Vaati saw through the haze of red the mane around Iblis's neck part and spread, forming two huge, gleaming black crow's wings. His deep voice radiated magic, and Vaati felt himself inexorably drawn further and and further into it, his very spirit swaying with the music.

The red swirled faster and the beat became stronger; the melody no longer spoke of death but life, of light and power and love and Shadow and hope. Vaati had the curious feeling he was rising, higher and higher above the altar. He looked with a strange sort of detachment at his own useless body down below, quickly swallowed by the red mist. He looked to his right and saw Gufuu, struggling and flailing and trying to scream as the redness swallowed him too, dissolving him until Vaati could no longer feel him in his mind.

The song rose to a fevered pitch, sealing Vaati in the red cloud that surrounded him, blocking from his sight all but the Sheikah directly below. Vaati saw a finger twitch, and heard a soft gasp as lungs took in breath for the first time in centuries. Bloody eyes flickered open to meet transparent red.

And Vaati knew no more.

* * *

Eh heh. Eh heh heh. May I mention that I am currently in hiding in a very secure location? *gulp*

Thank you to my other Chapter Sixteen reviewer:

**Alaranth**: You seem to have reviewed just after I posted Seventeen, but before it showed up. Oops. Hope you find this one! I've already responded to this review of awesome in the pm I sent you, but THANK YOU! *feels all special* And yeah, I have awesome reviewers. . . who hopefully aren't planning to kill me in my sleep now.

Thank you to the Chapter Seventeen reviewers:

**Rose Starglen**: Thanks! Did you get the reference in this chapter title?

**Claradwor**: Yes, he did, because the image was in my head and it was funny. You are also the one I'm hiding from. *Looks around cautiously*

**Kick-Aft**: That was the idea. I wanted to address key rooms without doing an entire walk-through. Glad you liked it!

**RococoSpade**: YES YOU DID! :P Well, if the Redeads were that bad, I hope Dead Hand was worse, because it was supposed to be. Oh, it's going to get worse for poor Dark Link, much worse. Heh heh Thanks. And I broke the record again! Ha!


	19. A Sheikah After All

Chapter Nineteen

This is really short, but I felt it ought to be its own chapter. Well, that and between looming finals and having Skyward Sword to play, who knows how much writing I'll actually get done?

This chapter is all Sheik background, and will hopefully answer your questions. Enjoy!

* * *

_My only crime was to be born too powerful._

_I. . .saw things even Sheikah shouldn't. Sheikah should see the present, not the past, and certainly not the way I did. My hand placed where another had been, a word, sometimes a look was all I needed to **see**. In this way I learned, and I became stronger than the others. _

_The King feared me, but his daughter loved me, child that she was. In this way were alike, she and I, knowing things nobody else ever could. Even my parents didn't understand._

_I don't blame my parents for my fate, nor do I blame the little princess. _

_Princess Zelda. . . she showed me such kindness, when the sights became too much for me and I would hide, somehow she'd find me, and I'd feel her little hand on my shoulder, whispering words of comfort. _

_My mother protected me as long as she could, but we could not keep what I was hidden forever. _

_It was an not uncommon practice, in those days, for the Royal Family to ask for a Sheikah sacrifice, proof of their unwavering loyalty.  
_

_I was just another shadow to the King, but one with enough power to pose a threat should I choose. I _

_never would have, not for anything. _

_But Zelda's father was always fated to be a damn fool._

_I was sixteen, Zelda nine, and **he** just ten when I first saw **him**. And I **knew**._

_I saw in his mind all that had been in the Time That Never Was. Mother told me later that I collapsed, but I don't remember that. I remember waking with seven years' worth of memories that never happened, preparations for a Hero no longer needed. Who I had been and who I was, merged into one by that first look at the boy garbed in green. The boy with the sad, haunted eyes._

_In the Time That Never Was, I disobeyed my mother's orders not to speak of my gift, and I tried to warn the King._

_In the Time That Never Was, the Evil King whispered to the Foolish King, "he is dangerous."_

_In the Time That Never Was, the Foolish King listened, and the princess cried and pleaded, but she was ignored, for what could a girl know of these things? _

_In the Time That Never Was, I was sent to the heart of the Shadow Temple to die. Many Sheikah accompanied me; none returned, for Ganondorf's treachery doomed them all._

_I remember laying on the floor of the Room of Sacrifice, my clothes wet with the blood of those who had died before me on the whim of the Royal Family. I remember my sister, a magic-user in her own right, forced to wield the blade that would end me. I remember her tears, bloody tracks smeared across her face._

_I remember thinking that I did not want to die so uselessly. I remember thinking of the princess, and how she too cried for me. I remember thinking of the Evil King, and what I had seen when I looked at _

_him; power, greed, hatred, corruption. He would take the princess if he could. He would destroy her._

_I remember praying to Lord Iblis. "Please," I whispered, "If I must die, let me protect her in death." _

_I heard the call of a crow, and saw my god kneeling over me, with such sorrow in his eyes. "Let it be." His magic swirled around me. My own blood rose from the floor to surround my body. What happened next I couldn't say, for surrounded in the swirling red I could see nothing else. Lord Iblis spoke to the others, and there was chanting and haunting music, led by the god himself. I heard a woman's voice scream with rage and I was lifted up, up from my body, and then **she **was in front me, within the red. A twisted version of the Princess, beautiful but for the hatred on her face. _

"_Take her within your soul, and for a thousand years your princess will remain safe." Lord Iblis' voice murmured to me, somehow intelligible above the noise._

"_Gladly." I said. _

_All seemed calm in the Time That Was, but I knew it would not last. I knew I would be needed again to serve as I had in the Time That Never Was. I knew that I could not remain amongst the living. _

_I knew that in the Time That Never Was, I loved the boy in green with the haunted eyes. But I also knew it could not be. _

_I did not wait for the King's summons. I told my mother what I'd seen, and then I told the princess. Her eyes looked at me with such sadness, and at that moment I knew that she remembered too. _

_I showed the others what I'd seen. The destruction. The pain. _

_My sister begged me to reconsider. Ganondorf is gone, she said, sealed away within the Realm of Twilight. But, she knew as well as I that as long as he held the Triforce of Power he would return, and I. . .I would be there when he did. _

_The spell was cast a second time. My body lay upon the ground, surrounded by crystals of red, while I, a true shadow now, a spirit, stood above it. My body would be moved to the Burial Chamber later, to join the others who died here. _

_I looked into my sister's shining eyes, I knew the truth. They had to forget. I had to forget. Everyone had to forget that I was ever a Sheikah, ever more than what I now was. _

_When Link dared to ask my mother about a boy named Sheik, she told him she knew none by that name. She did not lie to him. Sheikah cannot lie._

* * *

Thank you to the Chapter Eighteen Reviewers** RococoSpade **(Thank you for being awesome and letting me use Iblis! I am not posting my entire response here), **Kick-Aft **(Thank you very much! Yeah, I always wondered what would be down there too. The boat had to go SOMEWHERE. And the columns. Something really should be there.), **Claradwor** (I was really afraid you were going to kill me. Glad you didn't. I don't want to know what you're doing with that Gufuu, though.), **Rose Starglen **(It's a reference to a song from Spamalot.), **Demonologist666 **(O.O *hides*), and **Alranath** (I'm not typing your response here either. It's too long.)


	20. In Which Sheik Forces an M Rating

Chapter Twenty

So, if you guys haven't noticed, I bumped up the rating to M. It's Sheik's fault. Dark Zelda makes it worse later, but for now it's Sheik's fault. There's a bit of a lime in this chapter with. . . well, you'll see.

I still don't own Legend of Zelda, or Iblis. Iblis is RococoSpade's (people, GO READ HER STUFF! Seriously), and everyone else belongs to Nintendo. I DO own a copy of Skyward Sword, though. This game is AWESOME!

* * *

"_It's getting late, so I believe that you shoul-" Sheik cut off abruptly, his eyes shooting wide open in horror. He leapt to his feet, gazing towards the swirling clouds at the center of the Dark Realm. They were weakening rapidly, like another wizard was trying to dismantle them and free the monster trapped within. "No. . .NO! Dark Link, the barrier!" A flash and he reappeared before the barrier, gazing up at the heights of it, the golden light attacked by a menacing blackness. "No, no, no. . ." _

_Sheik took a breath to calm himself and steady his weakening form. He stood poised with hands clasped, reaching inside of himself to pull forth whatever power he could find. Shadow magic crackled and sparked around his body, requiring every ounce of control he had. He couldn't spare his precious lover or little Link so much as a glance when he heard them skitter into the clearing. _

_Sheik fought with everything he had, fighting to protect Link, Dark Link, and his young princess. He could not allow them to be hurt! He drew forth more power still, pushing pushing back against the blackness, erecting new spells and strengthening old as he went. It almost seemed he was winning; he would be tired, certainly, but he would live. _

_Then _she_ interfered. _

_Her magic fought his, and Sheik couldn't fight on two fronts, he just didn't have the strength. He tried to shout a warning, uncertain if he was heard or not. He threw more power forward, but she rode along with it, twisting his own spell to suit her needs. The resulting backlash washed Sheik from her in a wave of darkness that stole his consciousness so very far away. . . _

* * *

A dream within a dream to tell the truth to one who had hidden it from himself and the rest of the world. He sought only to protect those he loved, but in the process he hurt the most precious one worst of all. The most precious searched the world over, broke himself into four, and still never found him. The hidden found the fifth himself, and he loved him as he loved the first. For the first always holds a special place, and when it's only a dream in any case. . .

* * *

_Strong, oddly familiar arms wrapped around him, cradling him against a well-muscled chest as though he were the most priceless treasure. Gentle fingers wove through his long, soft hair, the man above him humming a quiet tune, the calming Serenade of Water. The smell of the forest, alive and lush, surrounded them. It was comforting, a kind of comfort Sheik hadn't experienced in so very long. He buried his face deeper into that warm chest, releasing a contented sigh. Sheik felt the chest rumble when the man holding him chuckled, adjusting his grip to pull Sheik closer against him. _

_Sheik froze. That laugh. . . Bloody red eyes snapped open, trailing up the green tunic of the one who held him, to look on that achingly familiar face for the first time in centuries. "Hero . ." He whispered, hardly daring to believe what his eyes were telling him. He was as handsome as Sheik remembered; his face perfectly chiseled by the goddesses themselves, with such a warm smile on that it made Sheik's heart ache. This wasn't the same suffering spirit who had come to him for help as the Hero's Shade, or even the little boy garbed in green who forced him to remember who he was but had never been. This was Link, the Hero of Time, as he should always have been. As he would have been, if Sheik hadn't been forced to erase himself from existence. . . _

_His strong arms pulled Sheik closer and he buried his face in the Sheikah's hair, inhaling his desert scent. For the first time Sheik realized he wasn't wearing his turban, or his cowl. Or, for that matter, a shirt (just whose consciousness was in control of this dream, anyway? Because it was a dream, a very pleasant one, but a dream nonetheless). When Link bent to press a soft kiss to the exposed skin of his throat, Sheik found he was rather glad of it. "Shhh. Don't say anything. Just let me hold you. Let me pretend, just for a little while." _

"_There's no need to pretend, Hero. . .Link." Sheik whispered, wrapping his arms around Link's shoulders and straddling his hips, leaning up to kiss him. It was gentle and loving, Link's fingers tracing lazy patterns on Sheik's hips while they pressed their lips together languidly. Sheik's tongue prodded Link's lips, and the other complied willingly, content to reacquaint himself with his lover's exquisite taste. _

_Sheik's hand trailed along Link's side and slipped under the green tunic's fabric, palming Link through the white tights he wore and causing him to break the kiss, throwing his head back with a needy gasp. "Sheik!" He moaned. The sound was too much for the Sheikah. He pushed Link back onto the bed of soft grass, claiming his lips in a hungry kiss as he pressed their bodies closer, drawing more of those delicious noises from the flushed Hylian. _

_Link cried out when Sheik rolled his hips against his, his fingers clawing at the grass beneath them. "Don't tease, Sheik!" He gasped out, "Goddesses, don't tease!"_

_Sheik laughed, sucking lightly on the tip of one ear to draw another moan from the hero before sliding slowly down his body, tugging his tights down as he went. "As you wish, Link."_

_So absorbed in their reunion, neither noticed another blond head peeking at them from the bushes. Blue scowled and seized the back of Red's tunic, pulling him away. _

"_Hey! Why does Green get to say hi first? I want to say hi to Sheik too~!" The smallest Link whined, twisting around to try to look back. _

"_We can say hi to him later!" Blue hissed, cheeks pink as Green groaned ("Sheik! Goddesses, how can your tongue even DO tha-AT?") _

"_But Blu~ue!" _

"_No!" _

* * *

The smell of incense hung heavy in the air of the darkened room. A man's voice, low and powerful, echoed in the space. Three candles burned, a red flame, a green, and a blue, set in the middle of a complex pattern of ancient runes on the floor. The man walked slowly around the edge of the circle, chanting as he went in a language long dead, older than the oldest tale of the so-called Chosen Hero. . .

A black-gloved hand emerged from the cloak the man wore, a vial of some dark red liquid held within. A single drop sizzled onto the blue flame and it flared, turning black for a moment before resuming its previous color, though the flame burned brighter now. He paced the circle thrice more, and lifted another vial, though this one seemed to contain only flakes instead of liquid. Carefully, ever so carefully, he shook a single small flake onto the green flame. For a moment nothing happened, then there was the stench of burning iron, and the candle's flame flared high, higher than his head, almost to the ceiling of the room-

And it went out.

Cornelius swore, tearing off his cloak and tossing it down, staring in disbelief. Still? Still it wouldn't work! He'd been a fool not to take a vial of the boy's blood while he had him in the dungeon; goddesses knew he'd bled enough. Stubborn brat. But he wanted only the execution blood, the best blood for the ritual. It was already weakened because the princess' blood wasn't execution blood. . .

The red flame flared higher than could be natural and glowed black, the center a blinding gold. Cornelius dropped to his knees, pressing his head to the floor. "Goddess!" He whispered reverently. "Your humble servant awaits your word."

The voice that acknowledged him was everywhere and nowhere, inside of his mind but surrounding him so completely he could hear nothing but its high echoes. "How do the preparations progress, my Mage?"

Cornelius shook as the unfathomable power in that voice washed over him. How blessed he was that one of the Sisters spoke to him! "The rituals to release Power's Thief are almost complete, Goddess. As you said, it will release him enough to remove Power from him, so that the three can be reunited."

There was a long silence before She spoke again. "Then you have the blood of Courage's Thief?" There was an aura of danger in the everywhere voice and Cornelius shivered. She _knew_.

"In a manner of speaking." He began slowly. Wisps of the red flame reached out and trailed around him like slithering fingers, and he watched them nervously. "You are of course aware, revered Goddess, that the demon took him before he could be executed. . ."

"And just whose fault is that?" She cut him off sharply. He fell instantly silent, pressing closer to the floor. "Did I, or did I not tell you to wait until nightfall, and I would handle the matter myself?"

Cornelius gulped and stammered. "Y-Yes, Goddess, you did. I only wanted to take care of the unpleasant business for you-"

The fire lashed out at him and he screamed as it licked at his skin, _consuming, burning, destroying_- and then it was gone, like it had never been. He panted for breath, trembling before Her might.

"I forgave you for that idiocy, and allowed you the chance to look for the boy. You have thus far failed to find him. Lucky for you, my other followers are not so incompetent. Even now my darling- " (She HAD said darling, hadn't She? He almost thought he'd heard "darkling," but that didn't make any sense at all.) "- is handling the matter. When he succeeds, I will instruct him to bring the boy's body to you. Take what you need then. I want that spell cast, and soon."

"Yes, Goddess! Your will be done!" He gasped, crawling closer to the flame that carried Her presence as though it was the Goddess Herself and he could kiss Her golden robes.

"See that it is." And like that the candle burned with an ordinary flame again, and Cornelius was alone once more in the otherwise-darkened room.

* * *

The last of the night faded as the sun rose over Lake Hylia. Sheik sat with his back against the tree, arms wrapped around Green who sat between his splayed legs with his head resting against Sheik's chest. Blue sat against the tree beside them, carding his fingers through Red's hair while the smallest Link slept soundly, using Blue's thigh as his pillow. The sunrise burned a brilliant, but dangerous red, and Green's eyes grew sad as he watched its glow. He heaved a sigh as though the weight of the world were on his shoulders once again. Reluctantly he sat up, turning to face Sheik.

Gently, Green took Sheik's right hand in his left and lifted it to his lips, placing a tender kiss on the palm. Blue eyes slipped closed as he placed that warm hand against his cheek. "It's time." He whispered, voice shaking slightly, though he tried to keep it steady.

"You. . .have to make a choice, Sheik. Soon, your body will be called to wake. Will you go? Or will you stay here, with me? If. . ." Green swallowed thickly. "If you leave, I cannot promise you will be able to return again."

Sheik's expression softened and he pulled Green close, kissing his lips so very tenderly, a long, lingering kiss. "I love you, Hero, my Link."

"But you're not staying." He bowed his head so that his bangs hid his expression.

Sheik lifted Green's chin to look into his eyes. "We both know that I can't. Princess Zelda still needs me."

"That's not your only reason, is it Sheik?" Asked Red, looking up from Blue's lap as he yawned and rubbed sleep from his eyes.

Sheik smiled, lacking any cowl to hide his expression as he reached out to ruffle Red's hair. "No, it is not. Vio is still a child in the waking world. He has yet to come into himself; someone has to look out for him."

Blue scowled, Red hurrying to move as he stood, arms crossed and glaring. "Stop avoiding the question, Sheik!"

"Don't yell at him!" Green scolded Blue, glaring right back at him. "This is hard for him too."

Blue's snort of disbelief told them just how much stock he put in _that._

"Blue~!" Red whined, tugging on his tunic. "Don't start a fight!"

Blue raised his hand like he might bop Red on the head, but thought better of it, turning away with his scowl firmly in place.

Sheik wrapped Green in his arms, burying his face in his blond hair. He held him until the sun had completely risen, the red giving way to thick gray clouds on the horizon. "I love you, Link. . ."

"But you love him more, don't you?" Green whispered, curling closer to Sheik's chest and inhaling his scent one more time.

"Yes. I do." Sheik answered, his eyes and tone so soft and gentle and sweet it was almost heartbreaking to witness (or gag-inducing, as Blue would later insist).

When Green lifted his head again the threat of tears was gone. His eyes shone with determination and force of will. Sheik had to leave, and so he would let him go. He stood and offered his hand to Sheik, who allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. The scene around them dissolved in a swirl of color, and the four of them stood in the graveyard of Kakariko, as it had been a thousand years prior. Sheik, too, stood dressed in the blue outfit he'd preferred then, the same style he'd worn for as long as that.

Time meant nothing in this between-world the Links inhabited. The sky above was dark, though they had seen the sun rise not minutes before. It seemed. . . appropriate, somehow.

Sheik stared up at the ledge that held the entrance to the Shadow Temple, the gate which would return him to the waking world. He took a step towards it, and Green caught his hand. "There's. . .one more thing." That sadness, deep and aching, had returned. Sheik paused, turning back to face him.

"Many things have happened since your spirit left that world. Many ills have befallen those you love. I didn't tell you sooner, because there was nothing you could have done from here." Green brought his other hand up to clasp one of Sheik's in both of his, pressing something into his palm. "But there will be, when you wake. Remember, Sheik, that people can change. Learn to forgive. And. . ."

"Whatever you do, don't leave Vio alone." Blue was still glaring, biting out the words with the irritation he used to hide his worry.

Little Red's voice cut in, as he stared pleadingly up at Sheik with his hands clasped in front of him. "The demons find him when he's alone, and they'll destroy him if they can."

"What demons?" Asked Sheik, brow creased in worry and confusion.

"His own." Green released Sheik's hand, and opening it, he found a single, tiny deku nut. "Farewell, Sheik. I love you."

"Farewell." A bright, blinding flash, and he was gone.

* * *

An ancient heart, long stilled by magic, began to beat again. Lungs, long unused, began to breathe again. All-seeing eyes, closed for far too long, blinked open at last. Directly above him the spirit of another being floated, the Minish, the Wind Mage. Sheik saw in his eyes all that he had done, all that he intended when he stepped foot inside the Shadow Temple. He smiled at Sheik, a strange little smile that spoke of one content with the knowledge that he was dying. It was a peaceful, gentle death; his life willingly given to stop the rise of a monster, to give Sheik the time he needed to finish what only he could. His red eyes slipped closed, and he grew fainter and fainter, his essence fading away.

The Hero's words echoed in his mind._ "Remember, Sheik, that people can change. Learn to forgive. . ."_

A red haze, born from Sheik's own blood, surrounded them, slowly dissipating as it vanished back into his healing body. Sheik could see nothing but the Wind Mage, dying so that he might live, fading with the blood-crystals.

"_If enough living magic-users to cast the spell cannot be found, a sacrifice will be required. Their life for yours. The reversal of this spell will require only one." _

Only one.

Vaati didn't have to die.

Sheik lifted his hand from the stone altar and held it out, his own quiet voice, only slightly hoarse from its long disuse, joining the song of power that filled the room. Some of the red crystal haze swirled around his palm, forming a tiny, dense ball. It swirled slowly as it rose towards the ceiling, guided by Sheik's voice and power.

Only one.

The demon Gufuu was enough.

The light from the top torches shot towards the center of the room and surrounded the little ball, swirling around it almost lazily, then faster and faster until the three lights blurred into glowing white. The ball flashed brightly once, twice, and again before sinking back down towards the altar and Sheik's waiting hand. The music around him faded away until only his own voice sang out, stronger and clearer than before. He brought his other hand up and the glowing ball settled between his palms, the white light fading away to reveal a sphere of gleaming blood-red crystal like the one that had held his body in its protective embrace.

A tiny crack appeared and spread along the surface of the crystal before the ball shattered, its many pieces fading away to reveal a tiny, sleeping Minish, curled up in Sheik's palm with his arms and legs tucked close, and his feather-like tail wrapped about him. His tail twitched and lifted, one arm reaching up to rub his eyes tiredly. He blinked and looked down at himself, then up, up, up at Sheik's face high above. He really was very cute, and a small smile tugged at Sheik's covered lips.

"Sheikah!" He squeaked. "I-I'm alive? And-and Gufuu's gone? For good?"

"Yes." Sheik answered. Vaati ran his hands over his purple robes and down his long-absent tail. He plopped down heavily and stared at Sheik with eyes filled with tears of gratitude, his expression awed.

"You saved me?" He whispered.

"No," Sheik answered softly. "You saved yourself."

"Well done, my child. I am proud of you."

Sheik's head whipped to the side quicker than a blink and his eyes grew huge with shock. "L-Lord Iblis!" He hurried to bow, but almost succeeded in falling off the altar instead, his body not quite ready to move so quickly. Vaati yelped and grabbed tight to Sheik's bandages, clinging on for all he was worth.

Iblis made made a sound of frustration as he reached out to steady him, helping him sit back on the stone. "Careful now, Sheik. Your body has been asleep for a thousand years. Give it time to adjust."

"My body. . ." His right hand, the one not holding Vaati, came up to rest on his heart, feeling it beat beneath his fingertips like a pulsing bombflower. He closed his eyes for a moment, bowing his head before his God.

Iblis was having none of that, reaching out to lift his chin. His expression was exasperated, but kind. "Do not feel the need to lower your eyes to me, my child. You are the last of your kind, and you will be the greatest of all."

"My Lord. . ." Sheik whispered reverently.

Iblis removed his hand and stepped back. Many spirits still lined the walls, and Sheik found himself searching for one in particular. She smiled at him, holding a small harp in her hands. She pulled down her cowl and her lips moved, though Sheik could not hear her words. _ I love you, brother. _

"Death removes all illusions." Iblis murmured, watching the exchange sadly. "Even those cast to stop the ache of longing."

She glided forward, smiling sweetly. She looked as young as when his living eyes had last seen her, though Sheik knew that she had lived to a ripe old age, married to a Hylian man. She leaned in close, pressing a ghostly kiss to his cheek, something akin to static on his skin. "I love you too, Impaz."

Reluctantly, Iblis broke the moment. "Time grows short here, Sheik. Affairs have deteriorated terribly in your absence, though I gather you understood that from Vaati."

Sheik took a moment to sort out his new knowledge. Dark Zelda was back. The Princess was missing. Link had been captured, and rescued again. Link. . . Sheik froze, staring down at the Minish in his hand. Vaati squeaked when Sheik lifted him by the back of his robes until they were eye level, staring hard at him. When he spoke, his voice was low, dangerous. "You left Link in the Sacrificial Chamber."

"If you mean the last room, yes I did." Vaati said slowly, gripping onto one of Sheik's loose bandages. "I didn't want him near me in case I didn't make it in time."

"_Whatever you do, don't leave Vio alone."_

"You left him alone?" Sheik's growl made Vaati cower, and Iblis frowned, reaching out a hand to try to calm him.

"Not entirely, there were other spirits there-"

"_The demons find him when he's alone, and they'll destroy him if they can." _

Sheik dropped him, and Vaati gave a muffled "Oof!" when he landed in the folds of Sheik's cowl.

A scream echoed down the hall, and Sheik's blood ran cold.

"YOU LEFT HIM ALONE?" He shot from the altar and past his God, running for all he was worth away from the dead and to the living who still needed him. He stumbled and tripped over his own feet, biting back a muffled curse when he fell against the wall, but still didn't slow, darting down the Hall of Portraits towards the Sacrificial Chamber beyond.

Impaz looked to Iblis with pleading eyes, and he sadly shook his head. "I know you want to help him, but we've done all we can. Let him handle the rest."

* * *

Vio's face was taunt even in sleep. He turned on his side and curled up into a ball, as though to make himself as small as possible. He reached out for the shadows, pulling them close in an attempt to hide as a whimper escaped his lips. "No. . . don't. . ."

One of the spirits knelt beside him, watching, but unable to help. The other two stared towards the Burial Hall, feeling the magic gathering there. "Soon." The tallest murmured.

"He's waking up." The kneeling one warned, backing slightly away.

"NO!" Vio screamed and jerked awake, his breath coming in sharp gasps as his eyes darted around. They fell on the spirits and swept past them, and he started to shake. "V-Vaati? Vaati? _Vaati! Where are you?_" He shot upright, Vaati's bloody cloak pooling in his lap. He stared at it in horror.

"Calm down." The tall Sheikah spirit said sharply. The others glared at him. "Lord Iblis took him to the Burial Room."

"B-burial? But- He- H-He left? He said. . ." Vio squeezed his eyes shut, holding his head in his hands. His heart rate was rapid, panic rising no matter how hard he tried to suppress it. "He left. He left, Shadow left, Sheik left, Mom left. Left. Gone, all gone." He choked on his words. "They all leave me. What's wrong with me?" He trembled and shook, upset and so very, very afraid.

The kneeling one reached out to him, but Vio screamed and rolled away from the ghostly touch. He scrambled and slipped on the bloody floor, running for the door Vaati disappeared through. "VAATI! VAATI, come back!" Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, mixing with the blood on his face until they looked like the Sheikah's bloody tears of old, those endless tears cried after the Great Betrayal.

"The door won't open but by a blood offering." Spoke the third, until-then silent spirit.

"Offering." Vio murmured. His gaze darted about the room until he spotted what he was looking for; Sheik's dagger lay on the floor, covered in blood and slime and who-knew-what-else. Vio ran for it, grabbing it in his left hand.

With a muffled cry he slashed the blade over his right palm, drawing blood, and ran for the door again. He tripped, throwing out his hands to break his fall on the bloody earth, but barely paused a second before he was running again, pressing his bleeding hand to the door. "Please, please open,_ please!_"

The door slid open and arms too big, too strong, too much like _them _caught him and Vio screamed, tearing himself from the embrace. The hands caught him again and held him close. Bandaged fingers caught his chin and lifted his face- "Link, look at me, _look at me!_ Calm down, it's me, it's Sheik!"

Sheik? Sheik!

Vio sobbed and Sheik held his tense, blood-soaked body tucked against his chest, trying his best to sooth him. "It's all right. I'm here. I'm here now. It's all right. Everything's going to be all right."

* * *

So...Please feed the author? It makes me write faster, I promise.

Thank you to the Chapter Nineteen reviewers **RococoSpade** (Thank you for being awesome! And Happy Belated Birthday!), **Ray-Kat-Hollows** (you left...a lot of reviews! Thanks!), **Kick-Aft**, **Darkwolflink1, Demonologist666 **(better now?), and **Alranath **(I believe I already wrote you a longer reply. Anyway, here;s a couple of your questions answered. Stay tuned for the rest!)


	21. In Which Dark Zelda Enforces an M Rating

Chapter Twenty-One

I'm sorry this took so long! I'm sorrrry! Trust me though, this version is WAY better than what you would have gotten a couple weeks ago, and it's fairly long. Thank the lovely RococoSpade, who helped me edit and gave helpful suggestions for improvement.

Also, warning. While there is nothing explicit in this chapter, there is hetero dubcon. You have been warned.

One more thing! Vaati references Nightmare Before Christmas and Dr. Who in here. Anyone who finds the references gets cookies (and I make REALLY good cookies)!

* * *

"We need to get you out of here." Sheik murmured, glancing around at the blood-soaked floors and petrified Dead Hand. He lifted Vio gently into his arms, and reached into the pouch at his waist (had he really worn it in the same place for a thousand years?) to withdraw a deku nut. He nodded respectfully to the spirits in the room and shifted Vio to throw the deku nut to the floor.

Light and magic surrounded them, and they reappeared in the first room of the temple. Vio went rigid, then struggled in his grasp. "Sheik, NO!" He yelled, struggling frantically until Sheik released him. The instant his feet touched the floor he ran, tripping and stumbling in his blood-slick boots as he reached for the ever-burning torch, nearly dropping it and burning himself in his haste. "Vaati's still down there! He's still-SHEIK!" Sheik caught him quickly, confiscating the torch before he could hurt himself.

"Vio! Vio Vio Vio wait, wait! What's the matter, now?" Sheik held him tightly, but gently, stroking his hair and holding him close. He'd had generations of experience soothing distraught princesses. Surely this couldn't be more difficult?

"Vaati!" Vio wailed. "I, Sheik I know you sealed him, but he's good now! Whatever you did it worked, I swear it did! And he-he went through the door you came out of and- Sheik, please!" Vio would not be calmed, struggling fruitlessly in the stronger Sheikah's hold until he wore himself out, fists thumping weakly against the Eye on Sheik's chest.

"Shh, it's all right. It's all right. I know he has. Vaati's here, he's right here." There was movement in the many folds of Sheik's cowl, and a little lavender head poked out around the back of his neck, looking a bit dizzy but otherwise unharmed. Tiny red eyes blinked up at Vio's look of surprise and wonder, the Minish giving a little wave before fully extracting himself from the fabric to sit on Sheik's shoulder.

"Vaati?" Vio whispered in disbelief. He reached up with hands coated thickly with dry blood to take him, the purple-garbed Minish climbing onto his palm heedless of it. "What happened to you?" His voice cracked and tears welled again as he lifted Vaati closer to look at him. "Why did you leave me? You said you'd be there when I woke up and you were gone!"

Vaati bowed his head, patting Vio's hand with his much smaller one. "I'm sorry Vio." He said. "Truly I am. But, I didn't want you to be there when I. . ." He sighed and looked back up. "I was dying, Vio. And you did so much for me whether you know it or not that I just. . ."

"You left me so you could die?" Vio asked, voice shaking. He turned his face away and squeezed his eyes shut as more tears dripped down his cheeks, his heart constricting painfully.

Vaati motioned with his hands and winds swirled around him, lifting him so he could place his tiny palms against Vio's cheek, and wipe away a tear as large as his hand. "You must understand, Vio. There was a demon sealed inside of me who could not be released under any circumstances. I had to protect you from him."

". . .But he's gone now, right? And you won't leave me again?" Vio asked, his eyes so sad and tone pleading.

"I will try my very best not to." Vaati assured him, pressing himself gently against Vio's bloody cheek in a hug.

Sheik laid a hand on his arm, frowning when Vio tensed under the touch. "He thought I would be there when you woke. I was late, and I apologize. But it's all right now. He's fine, and he's regained his true form." He moved his hand to stroke Vio's bloodied hair. "I have an idea of what's happened while I was gone. The first thing we need to do is get you both out of here, somewhere safe. I. . ." Sheik's eyes slipped closed, hiding the anguish in them. "I will take care of Dark Link."

Before they left, Sheik made his way to the raised circle of stone in the center of the room, kneeling so that the All-Seeing Eye engraved on the door seemed to gaze down upon him, looking deep into his soul. He bowed his head and there sent his prayers to the God Iblis, thanking him for ensuring their safe passage through the temple, and for watching over his body and those of the other Sheikah for so many years. Vio and Vaati came to stand beside him, mimicking him and bowing their heads to offer their own silent prayers.

When he'd finished, Sheik took Vio's hand to lead the way out of the temple. The sun was setting in a clouded sky, a pale yellow-orange when the weathered stone door bearing the Eye of the Sheikah slid open to let them out. Sheik paused in the exit. A familiar voice drifted up from the graveyard below singing a quiet, melancholy song that spoke of a time past when an evil wizard (who was not so evil anymore) kept parts of Hyrule in perpetual winter.

The Zora snapped from their reverie and turned towards the sound of the door, weapons drawn.

Ralis gasped, dropping into a hasty bow. "The Eternal Shield! We thought you were-!" But Sheik wasn't looking at him. His eyes were fixed on the growing shadows of the willow tree, planted over the place where he knew a kind old potions maker, long laid to rest, was buried. The beautiful notes flowed out from between the branches where the shadows were deepest, the singer's eyes closed while he rested against the trunk, looking (for the moment) perfectly at ease in his music.

"Take him." Sheik lowered Vio to the ground by Ralis, never so much as glancing at the Zora. "Take him somewhere safe, away from here." The song stopped. Sheik's living heart ached for it.

Ralis nodded. "It will be done."

Vio frowned, reaching for him. "Sheik, wait," but Ralis scooped him up, his guard holding the lit shadow-disperser high as they leapt from the cliff and picked their way across the ancient graveyard, wary of falling into the collapsing catacombs beneath.

Dark Link jumped to his feet and stood still, frozen as Hyrule of which he sang, his eyes fixed on Sheik. Sheik never broke eye contact when he leaped from the cliff and landed as gracefully as a cat, making his way to Dark Link with unfaltering footsteps despite the terrain. "Dark Link?" Sheik called softly. He had seen the darkness in Vaati's memories, but maybe he could still get through to him. "Dark Link, do you know me?"

Dark Link was breathing far too quickly, uselessly, a sure sign of his rising panic. He shook his head furiously, closing his eyes so he didn't have to look at that cowled face he so longed to see. He lifted his hands to his head, trying to block out that gentle voice he so longed to hear. "No. No no no no. . .I can't. I can't do this again. You're not here. You don't exist."

"Shadow!" Vio tore from Ralis' grip, taking off across the grass and hurtling over headstones. "He's there, he is! Just look, you'll see! We found him! We found him for you! We-" Ralis grabbed him up again, covering his mouth in an attempt to quiet him as he struggled, desperate to help.

"QUIET!" Dark Link screamed. "I won't do this again. I WON'T!" He drew his blade and charged at Sheik, who only just managed to dodge it, drawing his own short blade. Their swords, one black as the growing night, the other shining silver emblazoned with the Eye of Truth, clashed in the light of the rising moon, the clangs of metal meeting metal echoing in ways not heard in the quiet little graveyard for centuries. The poes, drawn by the noise, cackled and chuckled, floating around with their lanterns aglow. They swooped in towards the Zora and Vio, flashing as close as they dared and away again. Vaati hid deep in Vio's tunic, shuddering with fright. How he _hated_ poes!

Sheik held his own well for a body still groggy from a thousand year sleep, but he was no match for the stricken Dark Link, infused as he was with Power's endless darkness. Dark Link's blade slipped under his guard, slashing up and diagonal across Sheik's quickly retreating chest, leaving a long, shallow cut across the Sheikah Eye. Sheik grunted and pressed his bandaged hand to the wound, flipping away from Dark Link. It came away red, instead of the wispy darkness he'd grown so used to seeing.

Dark Link laughed. "You're not Sheik. You can't be Sheik! Sheik. Doesn't. Bleed!" Dark Link was merciless, slashing and hacking at him, driving him back, back across the graveyard while Sheik struggled to keep up with him. His body wasn't listening, he couldn't move the way he wanted to, he wasn't _ready_ for this! And to make it all worse it was Dark Link he had to fight to get the little ones to safety. Desperate, anguished Dark Link. His lover was crying, though he tried not to let anyone see.

His eyes were wild when his blade bit into Sheik's side, bringing him to his knees with a pained cry. "Damn this body!" Sheik hissed, scrambling to stand with a hand pressed to his side to staunch the flow of blood. Dark Link vanished into the shadows to reappear beneath the place where the old gate once stood, grinning insanely at the approaching Zora and Vio. The Zora didn't slow their pace, confident Dark Link would move to avoid the light.

But he didn't. He brought his right arm out from where he'd hidden it behind his back and casually tossed something towards them. The guard gave a shout, pushing them away from the rapidly pulsing bomb flower before it exploded, kicking up a cloud of debris. The shadow-disperser fell from his hands and smashed against an overturned headstone.

"NO!" Ralis fumbled in his bag for a light rock- why oh WHY did he have to throw his at Dark Link earlier? He didn't have another- "RUN!" He grabbed Vio's hand and they took off across the graveyard, a dangerous move in the dark. A Zora in the water was fast and swift, but on land their webbed feet made them clumsy, and much more likely to trip. Ralis stumbled over a hidden stone and Dark Link leapt over it, catching Vio around the waist and vanishing into the shadows with him.

"DARK LINK!" Sheik melted into the shadows after them, and anyone able to see such things would have seen them chase and fight, diving into the shadows of rocks and trees and blinded, hapless Zora. Dark Link knocked Sheik from the shadows and the poes converged on him, dozens and dozens of them to distract him while Dark Link and Vio vanished.

"DAMMIT!"

* * *

They appeared in a dark grotto, long ago forgotten by all but time. Shadow slammed Vio to the ground below, pinning his small body against sand and sitting on his back to keep him there. His hands pressed Vio's shoulders down and the boy gave a yell, fighting with all his childish might to keep a scant inch of space between himself and the ground.

Shadow muttered to himself distractedly, barely paying any attention to Vio's struggles at all. "Don't want to do it, don't want to do it, HAVE to do it, she'll be furious if I don't. . .don't want to. . ."

"SHADOW! Shadow, STOP! You're gonna squish him!" Shadow released Vio's shoulders when he shouted, more out of surprise than anything else. His ears twitched at the sound of small, scrabbling hands. He stared down in disbelief as the bloody fabric of Vio's tunic rustled, and a tiny lavender head poked out over Vio's shoulder.

"Vaati?" Shadow whispered, reaching down to gently stroke the tiny Minish. "You're. . . "

"Free."

Shadow jerked his hand away, shaking his head furiously. "No. . . No no no. . ." He stood, turning his back on them and clutching his aching head. Vio stared up at him pleadingly from his place on the ground.

"Shadow. . . Why are you doing this? I brought Sheik back for you. . ."

"NO!" Shadow whirled on him, fists balled at his sides and his body shaking. "That. Whatever that was, it was NOT Sheik! Sheik. Does. Not. Exist! Sheik never existed! He was just a spell, don't you see! A SPELL! Stop trying to trick me!" He snarled and leapt upon Vio again, holding him down to bind his wrists in front of him with a thick length of rope. Vaati yelled, tumbling backwards off Vio's shoulder and grabbing at his hair to keep from plummeting the few inches sure to break his Minish-sized bones.

"Don't be a fool, Shadow Link!"

"Shadow, please!"

"Darkling~" Called a high-pitched, feminine voice from outside the grotto's entrance. The three inside froze, staring at each other with varying degrees of fear and horror. Shadow's eyes darted around, and spotting an old, rotting wooden chest hidden in the back of the grotto, he picked Vio up and ran for it, setting him inside and quietly closing the lid.

"If you value your life, don't make a sound!" He hissed. He scurried back to the sandy place where Vio had lain, hastily kicking dirt and gravel over the bloodstains. A soft whoosh announced Dark Zelda's entrance, and Shadow whirled to face her.

Vio lay still inside the chest, hardly daring to breathe. Sounds floated to him through a small hole near his shoulder where the wood had rotted completely through. Dark Zelda's voice was a terrifying croon, Shadow's breathy and anxious. Their words were inaudible at first, becoming clearer as they moved closer to the back of the grotto.

"I don't want excuses, Darkling. Is the little Hero dead in the temple or not?" Dark Zelda demanded, danger in her tone.

"I-I-no. No, not. . .exactly." Shadow stammered. There was a sharp slap and a shift of lesser shadows through the hole as Shadow fell with a thud near the chest.

"Then you've failed me, and the boy has escaped." Dark Zelda hissed.

"I-I'm sorry!-" Shadow broke off with a pained cry, and Vio felt the crackle of malevolent magic across his skin. "P-Please, Dark Zelda!"

She giggled and hit him again with the dark blast, and though Shadow yelped in pain he didn't try to fight her. She had power over him, and she loved it. Vio hated it, hated her for what she was doing to his Shadow, who just couldn't seem to defend himself against her. He wished he was bigger, stronger, faster so he could- he could- Clothes rustled and Vio froze, fear sapping the fire of anger from him.

Shadow groaned. "Say my name again, Darkling. I want to hear it on your lips." There was something strange in her tone, something that Vio didn't like. A sort of heavy huskiness he thought he'd heard. . .in_ that _place. Vio bit back a whimper.

"Dark Zelda, Dark Zelda...ah!" His fist thumped against the wood of the chest, making Vio jump and bite his lip hard to keep from crying out. "Don't tease, Dark Zelda!" He gasped out, "Goddesses, don't tease!"

Another slap rang out, silencing Shadow. "Don't you _dare _try to order_ me_ about, Darkling!"

"I-I'm sorry!-" He broke off with a grunt that sounded pained, but something more. She giggled, that high-pitched grating laugh.

"Like that did you, Darkling? Then you'll love this. I'll give you what that figment of your imagination never could." His breath caught in his throat and he moaned, incoherent pleas reaching Vio's sensitive ears.

Vio clenched his eyes shut tightly (not that it made a difference) and lay still, biting his lip until he drew blood in his efforts to keep silent while he listened to the pair laying only feet away from him. How he wished he could block out that hated noise! Vio wasn't stupid, he _knew_ what they were doing, and he knew Shadow didn't want it. Didn't want it like he. . . hadn't. . . His breath came faster, panic rising in his chest. He had to get out! Out, out, out! Out of this chest, out of this hole, out of this land of harsh, glaring, too-bright _light_-!

A tiny hand laid itself on his cheek, and Vio opened panicked eyes to gaze into calm, if saddened red that was neither blood nor ruby, but simply red, simply Vaati. The little Minish stroked his face and nuzzled against him in an effort to calm him, keep him quiet lest they be caught. It worked, but only just, because nothing Vaati did could block those terrible pleasured cries from his ears.

Dark Zelda screamed her release to the keese above, and Vio heard gravel crunch and cloth rustling once more as Shadow gave a wanting groan. "Dark Zelda, please don't!"

"I'll do as I like, Darkling. You failed me. You don't deserve it." She snarled at him, obviously displeased. "I want the boy's blood, Darkling, and you will get it for me." Footfalls echoed and a soft whoosh at the entrance signaled her departure.

Shadow picked himself up off the ground hastily, righting his clothes and brushing dirt and pebbles from his body. He made his way quickly to the chest, flinging open the lid to check on the child he'd left inside. Vio was shaking, trembling, silent tears leaving tracks on his blood-covered cheeks while Vaati attempted to soothe him. Shadow reached in to pull Vio out and those blue eyes flew to his face, looking through him but not seeing him, wide with panic and he screamed, struggling and thrashing with all the strength his little body could muster. Shadow tried to cover his mouth to muffle the sound in case Dark Zelda was nearby, but Vio bit his hand, sinking small, sharp teeth into his flesh and drawing the black wisps that passed for blood in the Dark World.

Shadow swore and dropped him back in the chest with a too-loud thud, glowering at his suddenly-still form and nursing his injured hand. "Fine, then! You can just stay in there!" His eyes locked on Vaati, clinging to Vio's ear after being dislodged from his place near Vio's face, and caught him up in his cupped palm. He slammed the heavy lid back down with a resounding BANG, storming away from the chest.

"Shadow!" Vaati squeaked a protest. "You can't just leave him like that! He'll-"

"He'll be fine." Shadow spat. "I'll know if he isn't." He sat down heavily in the sand, next to one of the pools of clear water often found in these hidden places. He stared into it for several long moments, thinking. "What am I going to do, Vaati?" He ran his free hand over his face tiredly. "She wants him dead, and I can't defy her. It's impossible."

Vaati stared up at him, reading the lines of worry, pain, and. . . loneliness in his face. Whatever he'd inherited from the many Links who had deposited their negativity in that orb, a lot of it must have been simply sadness, bone-deep and aching. "You can always go back to your Sheikah."

Shadow shook his head, setting Vaati on the ground. "Sheik. . . doesn't exist. . ."

"Shadow! You SAW him! You FOUGHT him!" Vaati protested.

Shadow trembled and bowed his head, gripping lank black locks tightly in his shaking fists. "No. No no no no NO!" He screamed, falling to the ground in tight ball. ". . .no. . ." his cries fell to whispers, his dull ruby eyes staring listlessly ahead. Vaati hung back for a moment before approaching him quietly, settling down with his back against Shadow's cheek, his feather-like tail gently brushing a single tear away.

"Let me tell you a story, Shadow Link."

* * *

_It was a long time ago, longer now than it seems. . .What? Don't interrupt me! Yes, I'm older than you! I moisturize._

_Anyway, as I was saying. . ._

_It was a long time ago, when I still lived as Master Ezlo's apprentice. There was a race of people who called themselves the Sheikah. They served a noble, kind God, Lord Iblis, feared by many, but beloved by them. I've forgotten many of the tales Master Ezlo told me about them, even now much of it slips my mind (being sealed for so long will do that to you. You start to forget things.), but I remember that their God gave them the power to see the Truth, to see past all illusions. . .even those that would have otherwise hidden the Minish from their sight. _

_I feared them, as all villains do, but especially so, for the magics which kept the other Hylian knights at bay would not stop a Sheikah, even a young one. They. . .came close to defeating me many times throughout my attempts to overthrow Hyrule. Oftentimes I escaped only by the skin of my teeth. . .but I digress. _

_When I was a very young Minish, before Master Ezlo created that accursed hat, I met a Sheikah. I had only just learned the art of riding the winds, and was caught up in a storm and carried much farther than I intended. I crashed on a mountaintop, hopelessly lost and bitterly cold, for it was snowing there, though I had flown over lush forests and lovely blue lakes not an hour before._

_I wandered for hours, too tired to summon the winds again, but unable to find a safe place for shelter. Despairing of ever finding my way home, I plunked myself down on a rock, and there I cried, heartfelt wails the likes of which I'd never produced before._

_Well, of course I'd forgotten the second rule of those kinds of situations- the first being stay warm- stay where predators can't get you. Minish are tiny creatures after all, and there are animals out there who would make us into a tasty snack. I heard the growling only moments before the creature pounced- to this day I don't know what it was, a mass of blood-stained teeth, sharp claws, and fierce, glowing yellow eyes. I screamed and ran, blowing snow in its face with the power of the wind. _

_Still, it was much larger than me and much faster. I couldn't hope to get away. A dagger flashed from seemingly nowhere, piercing it through the heart. I nearly collapsed in relief and exhaustion. A figure well-bundled against the cold (unlike me) trudged through the snow to collect its prize and I froze, afraid I'd been seen. Then I realized that I was looking upon a man, nearly grown, and he probably couldn't see me anyway, so I decided to hitch a ride in his nice, warm pocket, certain he wouldn't notice. _

_Quicker than I could blink he'd snatched me right out of the air, holding me up near his face. Well I just about fainted! His eyes were as red as a monster's, the color of blood. They were hard and steely, the eyes of a warrior. He lifted me closer to his face and I thought for sure this new monster intended to eat me, but no, he only examined me closer before clucking his tongue and slipping me into his breast pocket, close to his heart. _

_I suppose I slept on the way, for when I opened my eyes again I was tucked into a bed made from a large dekunut shell, with cotton to cushion it and a cloth napkin for a warm blanket. There was a Minish-sized cup next to me, which looked as if it had been made by forming a small bit of clay to a Hylian pinky finger and baking it. The dekunut bed and cup stood on a plain wooden table (huge to my eyes!) in a house I didn't recognize. There was a fireplace along one wall with a bubbling pot hung over it, and a bed of straw in another corner. Stormy winds rattled the darkened windowpanes. _

"_So, you're awake little Picori. You were half-frozen when I found you. I was worried." I started, more out of surprise than fear. The man had melted from seemingly nowhere, but he didn't look scary. In fact, I thought he was smiling, but as he covered his face I couldn't be sure. But most surprising of all was that he was grown man and he could see me. Only Hylian children are supposed to be able to see Minish, you know. Well, as I soon found out, the man wasn't Hylian at all, but a Sheikah, a guardian of the princess of Hyrule sent to the mountaintop to train alone. _

"_A princess? Is she very pretty?" I'd asked him. He smiled then, and I could see a faraway look in his eyes as he spoke of her._

"_Oh yes. She's very lovely. Her smile would melt your heart. I'd do anything to see her smile, even travel to the depths of Hell itself. She's wise, and so kind, even to those everyone else fears. In my tribe, we call her the Heart of Hyrule." He loved to talk about her, how sweet and wonderful she was. Even I could see she meant the world to him. I longed to meet this beautiful princess. _

_The storm raged for several days more. We spent the time talking and laughing, this new friend and I. Sometimes he played his lyre for me, or I showed him the wind tricks I knew. He told me about the world the big people inhabited, while I told him of the world of the very small. _

_As the storm began to die I spoke of Master Ezlo, of the other Minish who feared me, because of my red eyes. "Like yours." _

_He sat quiet, and thoughtful for a moment. "No," he said finally. "No, not like mine. Mine are the color of blood, of death. Yours are...just red. Like a rose in the princess' garden, perhaps."_

"_Are people more accepting of red eyes in the big world?" I'd asked. His expression turned sad, and I sensed that I had hit upon a sensitive subject. _

"_Our eyes are a gift from our God, Lord Iblis. They are the reason I can see you, was able to rescue you. The Hylians. . .They do not always understand this. Often, they fear it." He heaved a heavy sigh. "The storm will clear soon. When it does, I'll take you back down the mountain." _

_The trip was quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts. It took three days to reach what he called the Picori Forest. Master Ezlo was waiting for me at the edge, and he thanked the Sheikah profusely for saving me. _

_Many years passed before I saw my friend again, and I'm sorry to say the circumstances. . .were less than pleasant. I was a fool, mad with the power granted to me by the hat Master Ezlo created. As soon as I laid on the princess, the one my friend had spoken of so fondly, I wanted her, and her power. I wanted her for my own. _

_My friend tried to stop me. He fought fiercely, bravely, to protect her, all the while those bloody eyes stared at me, suffering, knowing me. _

_And I. . ._

_I killed him. I turned him to stone, right there in the throne room. When I possessed the King, I tried to have the soldiers move his statue away, because I couldn't bear to look at it. None could move it, however. It was as though it were made of lead, and would stay there forever to torment me, and remind me of my wicked deeds. _

_When I was later defeated, the Hero and my Master used the hat to revive all those who fell victim to me, including my friend. He wouldn't look at me. I could only stare at my feet, overwhelmed by shame despite the Hero's assurances that I had been forgiven. _

_My Master saw the connection between us, and he knew that in spite of it, my friend still fought valiantly against me. He blamed himself for what I'd done, and he vowed never to let it happen again. To this end, he gave my friend a gift. _

"_Power," he said, "to defeat my apprentice should he or any other ever rise to threaten your Heart again. I give this power to you and those of yours pure enough of soul to safely wield it." _

_My Master gave my friend the power to utterly destroy me. Master Ezlo left for a moment to speak with the Hero, leaving me alone with my friend._

* * *

"And did he hurt you?" Shadow asked.

Vaati shook his head. "No. He placed his hand on my head (my Master and I were Hylian-sized for a time, before we used a portal to go home), and told me that he would forgive me when and if I proved I would not harm another needlessly again."

". . .Did you ever see him again? What happened to the gift your Master gave? Did your friend ever forgive you?" Shadow asked, gazing at the tiny Minish seated against his cheek, gazing up over his little shoulder at him.

Vaati smiled. " One question at a time, please. I did see him again. Many centuries later he stood over me, defeated and dying, and he saved my life. Not because he had to, and not because he thought I deserved it. No, he did it because you asked him to."

Shadow started. "That's impossible!"

Vaati turned to sit on his knees facing Shadow, though he still had to crane his neck back to look at him. "Is it? Funny things, souls. They tend to feel drawn to those that are most familiar to them. Reincarnations will on some level recognize those they knew in the past. That's how I knew Vio when he found me in the fading seal, and that's how I knew my friend when I saw him again."

"I don't know what became of Master Ezlo's gift. You'll have to ask Sheik. As for whether or not he forgave me. . ." Vaati reached out to lay his tiny palm against Shadow's cheek. "Well, someone who doesn't exist couldn't have done that, now could he?"

Shadow closed his eyes and gave a heavy sigh before rising to his feet. He picked Vaati up and placed him on his shoulder, making his way to the chest at the back of the cave. "Dark Zelda wants blood." He murmured, opening the lid and taking in Vio's blood-soaked appearance. "She'll never know the difference." He bent forward farther than he had needed to a short time before- when had his form shifted?- gently lifting Vio's unconscious body from the chest.

Cradling his precious burden he made his way to the small pool (once these had regularly held small fish, though they rarely did anymore), kneeling in the water heedless of his wet clothing. He held out his hand and called a clay bowl into it, one of Sheik's. He carefully peeled off Vio's bloodied tunic, placing it in the bowl, and holding Vio balanced against his chest, cupped a bit of water in his hand and wet Vio's hair, catching the reddened run-off in the clay bowl. He repeated this several times, rinsing the worse of the blood from his hair and arms, using only a small amount of water so as not to dilute the blood too far. He didn't know where it had come from, but he doubted it mattered. It was blood, and that was what she wanted. If it didn't do what she expected. .. well, he'd deal with that when it happened.

He rinsed the palm of Vio's right hand, revealing a deep, bleeding, festering cut. He let out a low whistle. It looked nasty. He'd have to bandage it later, or get him a potion. The problems of the right hand were quickly forgotten, however, when he rinsed the left, exposing a black, burned-looking scar on the back of his hand where the mark of the Triforce should have been. "Oh Vio. . ." he murmured, studying it. The Triforce was gone.

He set the bowl of bloody water aside and lowered Vio fully in the water. Vio shivered from the chill as Shadow carefully washed the rest of the blood from Vio's body, staining the water pink. A small stream supplied the water to the grotto; he figured it would run clear again in no time and nobody would be any the wiser.

He lifted Vio from the water and dried him with his own dark tunic. He held out his hand, and after a moment the lesser shadows brought him Vio's violet tunic and cap, the set he himself had stitched for the boy and the Zora repaired. He dressed him, and laid him on a grassy patch while he wrung out the rags he thought might once have been a blue tunic. He almost tossed it away, but changed his mind, handing it off to the lesser shadows instead. The "blood" was thinner than he would have liked, but good enough, he thought, to fool Dark Zelda, at least for a while. He poured it carefully into a vial, which he handed off to the lesser shadows before turning to face his young light, resting his chin on his fist placed on one bent knee, Vaati perched quietly on his shoulder.

"What are you going to tell her?" Asked Vaati after a moment.

"...I felt him dying, and tracked him to a mountain. A wolfos got him, tore him apart. I'll show her the tunic, and give her the blood I collected from the snow." He gave a shaky sigh. "Hopefully she'll buy it."

"And Vio? What will you do with him?"

". . .I. . ." Shadow fell silent for a moment, a slow smirk making its way over his face. "I'll leave him somewhere Dark Zelda would never think to look, and Sheik is sure to find him."

* * *

Thank you to the Chapter Twenty reviewers **Rose Starglen,** **Demonologist666** (I'm not sure how to take that. I think it was a compliment...how did you end up reading it despite the summary's slash warnings, anyway?), **RococoSpade** (Thank you again for your help! You're awesome! And you have my response already. Too long to repost.), **Kick-Aft, Darkwolflink1 **(*grins* I'm glad someone appreciated Minish Vaati. Hopefully the Dark content in this chapter made up for the lack of it last chapter.), **Alranath** (YOU DID FEED MEEE! *happy* I also already responded to you. You can write back when I pm you if you want, you know. Your reviews are so awesome I wish you would.), **samalane** (Glad to have you! Isn't she awesome? We trade beta services, which oddly enough started when she responded to my review for Static Red.), and **BunnySenpai **(Glad to hear it! New reviewers make me happy.~)


	22. That One Chapter That's a Bit Ridiculous

Chapter Twenty-Two

I've been gone for so long! Ack! Busy semester (medical school interviews, ultimately deferred acceptance, graduation...), other projects...anyway, yes, I know this is really short, but I just could NOT resist stopping where I did, so please enjoy this vaguely ridiculous chapter!

* * *

Vaati stared down at him from his place on the tree branch, his expression disbelieving. "You're joking. Tell me you're joking, Shadow."

Dark Link shook his head, kneeling down by the still-sleeping Vio with a pilfered (purple) dress tossed over his shoulder. He removed Vio's tunic and hurried to put the dress on him. The black sky above them was starless, their light hidden by looming storm clouds, and a chilly wind blew. He didn't want Vio getting sick. He carefully picked the leaves and grass from Vio's long hair (good thing he'd never cut it, he thought), combing it through with his fingers quickly; he did not dare summon the lesser shadows to bring him a comb so close to this sacred place. Lastly, he tied a bandage around Vio's left hand to disguise his Triforce-shaped scar (really, it was unlikely that anyone would recognize it as it was, but just in case...).

They hid outside of a well-protected convent dedicated to the worship a goddess who was said to be so holy, only her followers could speak her name. It was said that the building was one of the oldest in all of Hyrule, pre-dating even the Hero of Time himself. It wasn't a particularly large place (at least, not on the surface. Rumors abounded that the building sprawled underground, forming catacombs and secret chambers so deep one could easily be lost for a lifetime, but Dark Link had no knowledge one way or the other.), but it was a protected place, traditionally favored by the Hylian-born queens, though kings and foreign-born princesses usually held no special bond to it. It was protected by layer upon layer of ancient magic; magics so deep and powerful that Dark Link doubted even Ganon could break them. . . . Even if he did, he didn't have the power to do it now.

Dark Link answered only after a long silence. "There's nowhere safer in all of Hyrule. This place is beyond the King's power, and I can't sense anything within its walls. If I can't, then that means Dark Zelda shouldn't either. There aren't many places where the shadows cannot reach, but this is one of them. If the princess is still in the country, then she's here. I know Sheik. The first thing he's going to do is search for the princess, so if I want him to find Vio, then I need to leave him where Sheik is likely to look."

Vaati stared. ". . . But you just said shadows cannot reach this place."

Dark Link grunted. "He couldn't before. Other Zeldas have come to this place, obviously, and Sheik hated it because he could never follow them inside. But. . .he's different now, isn't he? He bled red, like a proper Sheikah. He should be able to enter. Impa always did."

He nodded to himself, satisfied with his work. "We have to hurry. The next patrol will be by soon. I don't want to wake him. I. . ." He shook his head, but they both knew why. After what had happened in the graveyard and the grotto, he was too ashamed. He stood, holding out his hand for Vaati to step into. "Promise me you'll look after him until Sheik comes?"

The Minish dipped his head in acknowledgment. "I promise."

Dark Link nodded and set Vaati on his shoulder, carefully scooping Vio into his arms. He'd have to leave him by the gate, for he could get no closer. He laid Vio upon the bare ground, and covered him with a (stolen) blanket. Vio shivered despite it, curling into a ball for warmth. Dark Link deposited Vaati near an edge of the blanket, so that he could burrow beneath it easily.

"Good luck, and be careful. Remember what we discussed before." Dark Link whispered, moving slowly away.

"I will." Vaati murmured, burying himself in the blanket and crawling into a handy pocket.

Dark Link vanished into the shadow by the bush he'd hidden behind earlier, opting to stay long enough to ensure that Vio was found, and at the very least brought inside. He hoped the dress would be enough to convince them. . .

Nearly a quarter of an hour passed before a lantern-bearing guard made her rounds. She almost walked right past him until he moaned quietly, shifting in his sleep. She started, and with a surprised shout hurried over to kneel beside him, placing her lantern on the ground. She shook his shoulder lightly to try to rouse him, growing increasingly worried when he failed to stir. The guard looked right and left, as though searching for whoever might have left him, then picked him up and carried him inside through a side door, which she unlocked with a key from a ring at her belt.

Dark Link breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been worried it wouldn't work. . .

There was a reason Hylian Kings did not favor the place, even when it meant so much to their mothers. Males, even young ones, were not permitted inside. Not to say that it was enchanted to keep them out (otherwise this plan would be moot anyway, since Sheik wouldn't be able to enter), but the servants of the goddess simply didn't allow them in.

Hence the dress.

* * *

The first thing Vio noticed was how soft his bed was. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept on a proper bed. Perhaps with his mother?...But even those memories were still fuzzy. He burrowed into the blankets and nearly fell back to sleep when he felt a light tug on his ear, drawing him awake.

"Nn...Vaati?" Vio whispered, spotting a pair of tiny red eyes in the dim light of the room. Vaati looked at him sadly, and Vio gasped as everything came rushing back. The temple, the Dead Hand, Sheik back from the dead, Vaati, and. . . Shadow. Dark Zelda. Vio buried his face in his pillow to stifle a scream.

"Vio, hush!" Vaati whispered frenetically. "I know what you're thinking, and Shadow's fine, all right? He's going to be fine."

"But Dark Zelda-"

"Don't worry about her, or Shadow." Vaati soothed, crawling from his hiding place to nuzzle the distraught Vio's cheek. "Shadow brought us to a safe place, but listen. We're in a convent located in the south of Hyrule. Only women and girls are allowed here, so if anyone asks, your name is Violet, and you don't know how you came to be here, all right?"

"W-What?" He had so many questions. How had they gotten here? What had changed Shadow's mind? Where was he? Would he be alright? Dark Zelda would hurt him. . . Footsteps echoed outside and Vaati dove back into the blankets to hide. Vio laid back down and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

A door opened and someone entered, padding over to his bed quietly. Hands reached out to tuck the blankets around him and Vio only barely repressed a flinch. _Stop it, she isn't going to hurt you!_ "Poor dear." A kind voice murmured. Another moment passed before the footsteps moved away from him, and Vio breathed a sigh of relief.

"Best get some sleep." Vaati murmured quietly, poking his head from his hiding place. "You look exhausted."

Vio bit his lip. "But, Shadow. . ."

Vaati shook his head again. "Wants you to be safe. He. . ." He dropped his voice lower, crawling closer to Vio. "He suspects that the princess might be hidden here. If that's true, then Sheik will inevitably come looking. You can rejoin with him then."

Vio's ears perked. "The princess?" He whispered, awed. "So. . . I should find the princess, and stay close to her?"

Vaati nodded. "If at all possible, yes." He tilted his head to the side and smiled. "I'll help. But it can wait until morning. I know you've gotten used to moving at night, but the people here aren't, and I daresay you'll have to adjust to their schedule. So go to sleep, all right?"

"But. . ."

"Go to sleep."

Easy for Vaati to say! He couldn't help but worry, about Shadow, about Sheik, or the princess Sheik cared so much for. Surely if he just waited until. . . Vaati. . . fell. . . . asleep. . .

Despite his mind's worries, his young body was simply too tired to resist the pull, and sleep he did, aided by the lightly scented incense burning in the room to ward off the occasional night terrors even normal children are prone to (but then, what was normal about Vio at all?).

The sunlight woke him several hours later, searing his retinas and causing him to burrow back under the blankets, hissing in pain. He'd spent the past several days in the darkness of the Shadow Temple, after all, and had not seen the sun since emerging from it.

"How are you feeling, dear? Is it too bright?" The light dimmed, and Vio cautiously poked his head out from under the covers. A kindly old lady smiled at him from near the drawn curtains. He recognized her voice; she was the one who had checked in on him in the night.

"Thank you, ma'am." Vio said quietly, trying to keep his voice soft and gentle, the way he thought a girl's might be. He noticed a bandage around his hand and fiddled with it.

She picked up a tray he hadn't noticed and brought it to him. "All the girls call me Madam Nurse, dear, so you might as well do so too." She watched him until he began eating, then probed gently, "what's your name, dear? One of our guards found you outside the gate early this morning. You looked like you'd had a rough time of it."

"My name is. . ." Vio remembered what Vaati had said. "My name is Violet. I. . . I come from. . ." He recalled the feeling of knowing nothing, the fear and anxiety he'd felt, and he channeled that now. Tears came to his eyes and he made an upset sound, turning large eyes on the woman. "I don't know!" He wailed. "I can't remember!" He started to cry and she rushed to soothe him, startled when he at first flinched from her touch, then leaned into it. She rubbed his back and murmured gently, trying to reassure him.

"There, there now dear. It's all right, it's all right now. Let's just be glad you made your way to us safely. Are you hungry, dear? If you like, I'll take you to the dining hall to eat. Perhaps meeting some of the other girls will help, hm?" She offered with a bright smile. Vio sniffled and nodded slowly. It would be a great time to try to find the princess. The princesses in Sheik's books always wore fancy dresses and crowns, and those that Sheik named as Zelda always had the mark of the Triforce, like his, so she shouldn't be too hard to spot...right?

Madam Nurse helped him up, and he noticed with some alarm that he was wearing a girl's shift Someone had changed him! But- "Here's a dress for you, dear. Your other one was quite muddy. Your shift was clean, thank goodness. I know little girls like you, and they'd be quite embarrassed to be dressed by Madam Nurse at your age." She smiled and handed him a dress, stepping out and closing the curtain around his bed to allow him to change.

Vio stared at it, absolutely baffled. "Vaati?" He whispered. "How do I put this thing on?"

Vaati poked his head out from his hiding place in the sheets, giving Vio an equally bewildered stare. "Pretend it's a tunic, only...frillier."

Vio tried to stick his head through, only to get stuck in the petticoats. He pulled back out and turned it this way and that, looking for a zipper or a clasp- "Violet, dear, are you alright?"

Vio panicked. "Uh, yes Madam Nurse! I'll be out in a moment!" He finally found the hole and wiggled into the dress, managing to tug it down past his knees (and giving Vaati just enough time to dive into a pocket) before Madam Nurse peered around the curtain, giggling quietly. She stepped up behind him and undid a clasp he hadn't seen, tugging it down the rest of the way before redoing the clasp. She fished a brush from the bedside drawer, running it gently through his hair. That done, she stepped back past the curtain and handed him a pair of white shoes and stockings. They weren't as comfortable as the boots he was used to (and who wore white shoes anyway?), and she had to do the buckles for him, but at last he was dressed.

"How's your hand, dear? Let me check the bandage for you." Madam nurse offered, reaching for his left hand.

Vio clasped his right hand over his left and shook his head vehemently. " N-No Madam Nurse! It's fine, really!"

She gave an odd little smile, but nodded. "All right dear." She took his right hand in hers, then, and led him from the infirmary. They passed through old white-stone halls, lined with pictures of the various ruling queens of Hyrule. "Currently, there are about nineteen young ladies staying here. Our youngest is three, our oldest seventeen. Some of them plan to take their vows, many do not. They stay in dorms on the upper floors, three to a room. Someone will lead you to your room after class."

She led him down a set of grand stairs and through a pair of double doors to the left. They entered a large room with several round tables set about it. The tables contained the white-clad sisters of the convent, as well as several younger girls. Some of them were clad in the finery of nobility, others in the plainer dress of the common people. Madam Nurse led Vio to a table with five other girls, four of whom (all dressed in finery) took one look at him, stood up and walked away.

"You'll have to excuse them, dear." Madam Nurse said quietly. "It's been hard on them, being sent here so unexpectedly. . . " She shook her head and cleared her throat. "Violet, dear, why don't you introduce yourself?"

Vio gave a shy smile. Girls! How did girls talk to each other? "H-hello," He said softly. "My name is Vio..let. Violet."

The red head, dressed in simple farm-wear such as he'd seen girls in his uncle's village wearing, beamed at him. "Hi! I'm Malon! My father sends me here for some schoolin' when there's not so much to do on the farm."

Vio barely heard Malon, because the second girl (where did she come from? Weren't there only five?...) lifted her blood-red eyes to his. His breath caught in his throat. How could she? It wasn't possible! Sheik had said that no pure-blooded Sheikah remained, and CERTAINLY none with Sheikah eyes. "I'm Sheik." Vio barely noticed Madam Nurse pat his arm and wander off, confident the girls would get along.

Goddesses! She even LOOKED like his Sheik. Blond hair covered one eye, the rest of her face and hair hidden by bandages, a turban, and a cowl. She wore Sheik's blue exoskeleton, complete with the Eye of Truth on her tabbard.

What in the name of the Goddesses was going on? . . .

* * *

Warned you all it was short! Hopefully the next chapter will follow soon.

Thank you to the Chapter Twenty-One reviewers:

Rose_Starglen: Something like that.~

RococoSpade: You're awesome and I love you! ^_^

darkwolflink1: Yeaaahh...This chapter a completely different tone from the last few. Heh, and short...

Kick-Aft: Yeah, he does that.

Fluffy's Yuki: ...I usually do respond to reviews?...It's easier if you sign in, and then I can just respond to you directly though, I mean, if you REALLY want to know something... To be fair, only Dark Link knew Vio was there, and he didn't want Dark Zelda to get suspicious. Thank you, and I hope your finals went well!

Shadowgirl215: Thank you! I hope this chapter got a few laughs.~

Claradwor: Updating...yeah...Although you DID review five months after said update. Hee. Oh dear...um...poor Gufuu?


End file.
